


Silver Fox Fallout

by Kesterpan



Series: The FoxVerse [2]
Category: NCIS
Genre: Friendship, M/M, Male Slash, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-18
Updated: 2014-04-27
Packaged: 2018-01-01 22:33:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 48,801
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1049344
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kesterpan/pseuds/Kesterpan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sequel to my story Silver Fox, will likely make no sense whatsoever if you don't read that first. Gibbs is having a difficult time in the aftermath of his experiences as a fox. Tony tries to help, but they need to turn to others, including members of the team, to get past what happened.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Dream State

**Author's Note:**

> _Here we go with the sequel to Silver Fox. I’m hoping to update every Sunday or Monday evening – can’t promise it because life has been highly distracting (in good ways) and the muse has been elusive much of the time. I had hoped to have the story completed before I started posting, but I finally realized that if I waited for that it might never happen._
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> _This is primarily a pre-slash/friendship fic, but it could very well get pretty slashy. It’s not currently my intention to take it in an explicit direction, but I make no promises either way – we’ll see how it goes. The usual disclaimer applies: I claim no ownership of anything affiliated with the show and the characters appearing in it._
> 
>  
> 
> _This story starts less than two weeks after the end of Silver Fox._

Chapter 1: Dream State

_He was running. The scents and the sounds were sharper than he remembered. The air had a distinct chilly bite to it, but his fur kept him warm._

_He sped up, leaping over branches, scrambling over rocks, always uphill, back to where he’d become human again. The only sound he made came from his own breathing._

_The tree was there, up ahead, taller and broader than when they’d left, outlined against the grey sky._

_He came to a stop and stared up at the tree, the smell of the evergreen overwhelming for a moment. He barked once, abrupt and demanding. There was no response at first, and then a shudder ran through the ground below his paws. The tree shook too, branches shifting despite the lack of any wind._

_The trunk split from about a third of the way up the tree, a jagged rent that slowly moved down to the ground. It widened as it moved, forming a small cavern._

_He stepped forward, stifling the apprehension, determined to finally confront this spirit and take his life back. He stepped in, walked several paces, then emerged into his own basement._

_He froze, then turned to see only smooth wall behind him. Scanning the room, he saw the boat, neglected ever since he was first changed, gathering dust. He whined softly, then made for the stairs; a noise from the back of the room caught his attention and he stopped._

_Tony was there, looking at him, saying something he couldn’t hear. He moved toward the man, his second, his friend, the one who’d helped him hold it together the first time around. Tony crouched down, reaching for him, and he moved quickly into his arms, seeing the change happening too late as Tony’s form elongated and stretched until it was long, branch-like fingers reaching for him, their touch condemning him to remain a fox forever._

Gibbs bolted upright, the canine whine from the dream turning into a half-voiced, human protest. He looked around, eyes wide, then slumped back against the arm of the couch.

“Damn it!”

He reached up and rubbed at his eyes which were stinging from the sweat that had run into them. His heartbeat was slowing now, and he wondered if he should try to get back to sleep or give up and head to work early.

His cell phone rang. He reached for it, rolling his eyes at the ringtone Tony had programmed in.

“Change the damn ringer, will you?”

_“Sorry, Jethro. I thought it was funny, you know? I mean, it’s kinda catchy, right?”_

“’Who let the dogs out’? Really?”

_“Yeah, okay, maybe not a great move…”_

“Ya think?”

There was a moment of silence, then a sigh. _“I really am sorry. I just thought it might help to try to laugh about it.”_

Gibbs tossed the blankets aside and swung his legs off the couch, sitting up and leaning back against the cushions. “Yeah, well, maybe that wasn’t the _worst_ idea you’ve ever had.”

_“Guess coming off that dream didn’t help.”_

“Nope.” 

_“You okay?”_

Gibbs tried to figure out how to answer that question, but Tony beat him to it. _“You’re not okay. That dream was pretty intense.”_

“You shared it?”

_“Felt more like I was watching it this time… I was over by the stairs. Wasn’t me turning into the tree spirit. Promise.”_

“I know that, Tony.”

_“Well, uh, good.”_ There was a pause, and Gibbs could hear Tony shifting around on his bed. _“You need me to come over?”_

Gibbs reached up to rub at his eyes again. “Nah, don’t worry about it. I’ll just get up and head into work early.”

_“Stop off at the diner, get a decent breakfast for a change.”_

“Yes, mom.”

_“Hey! Seriously Jethro, you need to eat. You’re losing weight.”_

“I’m fine.”

Tony was silent for such a long time that Gibbs felt compelled to say something else. “Really. I am.”

_“You’re not, and you know it. You haven’t worked on the boat, you’re not eating… what do you think it means, that you dreamt I turned into the tree spirit?”_

“Hell if I know.”

_“Mind if I take a shot at it?”_

“Would it matter if I say yes?”

_“Depends… you my boss right now, or my friend?”_

Gibbs sighed. “Friend.”

_“Then no, it won’t matter.”_

Gibbs’ lips twitched into a semblance of a smile. “Alright, then, shoot.”

_“You said before that you didn’t trust your feelings, that you weren’t sure they’re real, that the spirit might be forcing them on you. I’m thinking you’re still feeling off balance, you’re not trusting yourself, so you don’t really feel like you can trust me either.”_

“Tony –“

_“Hear me out. You_ did _change back on that mountain. You’re you, you’re human… if that tree spirit hadn’t wanted to turn you back, it wouldn’t have. I wouldn’t even know where to begin to try to force it to do anything. Why would it want to cause you problems now? You brought it back home.”_

“I don’t have an answer to that.”

_“I know. Just think about it, okay? And maybe come over here tomorrow night… or I’ll come there. You have fewer nightmares if we’re together, you know.”_

“Don’t wanna make your life difficult.”

Tony snorted. _“Do me a favor and give yourself a head slap, will you? What makes you think after all these years that I have a problem with my life being difficult?”_

Gibbs smiled at that. “You sayin’ I’m tough to live with, DiNozzo?”

_“I wouldn’t know; we don’t live together.”_ Tony sighed and Gibbs could hear him shifting around again. _“Look, Jethro… I know you need time to deal with all this. I’ll ask Abby about her shaman friend again tomorrow – I mean later today. I’d really like to meet this head on, so we can start talking about… stuff.”_

“Yeah, I know.” 

_“I know you know. And I also know that until you trust that your feelings are yours, we really can’t.”_ Tony cleared his throat. _“You think maybe we should bring Ducky in on this? He’s no shaman, but I bet he could give you some insight.”_

“You think Ducky knows anything about Native American tree spirits?”

_“I don’t think the tree spirits themselves are actually Native American. And if anyone who isn’t a shaman or Abby knows anything about them, it would be Ducky.”_

Gibbs hated to admit that Tony might be right about that, so he kept quiet.

_“You do need to talk to someone other than me. I’m biased. Ducky would hear you out, you know he would.”_

“I’ll think about it.”

Tony laughed softly. _“You do that. So, since we can’t very well have this conversation at work, am I coming to your place tomorrow night or are you coming here?”_

“Do I get a choice?”

_“Yeeeah… I just gave you one.”_

“Can I choose neither?”

_“Nope. Not an option.”_

“Since when are you the boss?

_“Since the boss isn’t taking care of himself. It’s my duty as your senior field agent to watch your back, even if it’s against yourself.”_

Gibbs sat back, suddenly feeling tired. “You keep right on doing that, Tony.”

_“I will. You going back to sleep?”_

Yeah… think I am, actually.”

_“Good. We don’t have a case, so you showing up at work at 3 a.m. would be kinda strange.”_

“Say goodnight, Tony.”

_“Goodnight, Tony.”_

Gibbs tossed the phone onto the coffee table and got back under the blankets, thinking. _Talking to Tony did make me feel better… maybe I will go over there tomorrow. Today. Tonight… whatever._

A few minutes later, he was sliding off into sleep again.

_He was hiking with Tony, going up to the summit this time, for fun. They crossed a stream; Tony grabbed onto his arm to keep him from slipping off a rock. They reached a good place to camp and set up the tent together; Tony prepared dinner and they relaxed in front of the fire. They put out the fire, and Tony turned to look at him in the light of the full moon._

_“Wanna run?”_

_Gibbs grinned at him; they shed their clothes, tossing them into the tent, then both changed shape, shifting into fox forms, Gibbs’ silver and Tony’s red. They took off through the forest, running together for the sheer joy of it._


	2. Advice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Many thanks to gosgirl for kicking ideas around with me - she makes my work better.

**Sought After**

Tony stared at the elevator doors, idly tapping his fingers on his thigh as he leaned back against the wall, thinking hard. 

_Never seen Gibbs so off balance… not for so long, anyway. Sure, anyone can crack a bit, but Gibbs always recovers… well, except when he ran off to Mexico, but that was different. Anyone would have lost it under those circumstances… and when he came back, he covered pretty well. Not perfect, but not bad. This, though… and I can’t really blame him if that’s what it felt like to be a fox – I mean, wow. The whole body shifty thing was weird enough, but to be able to run like that, and the smells! Wow. That was cool. Freaky, but cool. Two dreams about being back on the mountain in one night… why? Does the tree spirit want him – us – to go back? Is it lonely? Do tree spirits get lonely?_

The elevator came to a stop and Tony straightened his jacket as the doors slid open. He crossed the hall and strode into Abby’s lab, intent on getting some sort of answer to help his friend.

“Hey, Abs.”

She whirled around in place, her lab coat flaring out as she turned from her computer. “Tony!” She moved forward, pulling him into a hug. 

“Wow! I should come down here and start the day like this every morning. Hell of an ego boost!”

Abby grinned and hopped backwards. “You mean you and Gibbs haven’t gotten to the hugging stage yet?”

Tony gave her a mock stern look. “Get your mind out of the gutter, young lady!”

She mock pouted right back at him. “Oh, please… hugging is not gutter material. That’s what happens after the hugging! But if you’re not hugging yet, then you haven’t gotten that far, have you?”

Tony shook his head. “Abs, the farthest we’ve gotten is to acknowledge that there’s something there that we should talk about.”

“But that’s still good, right?”

“I guess… but Gibbs isn’t in any shape to talk about it.”

Abby stepped back a bit, frowning. “Still having dreams, huh?”

Tony nodded. “Two last night alone. They’ve got him doubting himself… and me as a result.”

“You?! How could he possibly doubt you, of all people?” Her eyes narrowed; Tony could tell she was one step away from marching off to confront Gibbs. He reached out and gently took hold of her arm.

“Easy, Tigress!”

“Oh, I love Kung Fu Panda! Let’s put that on the list for our next movie night!”

Tony grinned at the quick change of subject. “Only if you promise to let me and Gibbs work this out… don’t push.”

“But, Tony –“

“But, nothing. I’m serious. It’s not that Gibbs doubts me, not really… he’s not trusting his feelings right now. Thinks maybe the tree spirit is influencing him.” He watched her brow furrow. “Do you think that’s even possible?”

She looked at him helplessly. “Tony, I have no idea what’s really possible! I wouldn’t have guessed at the existence of tree spirits if you hadn’t shown up with a four-footed and long-tailed silver fox Gibbs that morning. I figured out the ritual to help get him back, but that was part logical deduction, part luck… I haven’t got the slightest idea how to find more information about the tree spirits. The Internet isn’t always the most reliable source, you know.”

“Yeah, I know. Sorry… didn’t mean to make it sound like I think you’re dropping the ball. I know you aren’t.”

Abby reached out and poked him in the chest. “I give you guys one hundred and ten percent, every time.”

“You underestimate yourself.” Tony took hold of her hand and raised it to his lips, bestowing a kiss to the back while she looked on delightedly. “Is your shaman friend going to be back in town soon?”

“Greg? I hope so… last I heard, he had a family emergency and was going to have to cut back through Vermont before heading this way. So I don’t know for sure when he’ll be back.” She blinked at the strange expression on his face. “What?”

“Greg?”

“Yeah?”

“Greg the shaman? Seems a little too, I dunno, normal.”

Abby laughed. “What were you expecting, Gandalf?”

“That would be really cool.”

“Has Gibbs even seen those movies?”

“No clue. But I bet he’s read the books. Tolkein was in the British Army in World War I, you know.”

“And you say I can’t keep to the topic. Greg just goes by Greg Monlatak… his given name is Klegual Monladaque.”

“That sounds a bit more shamany.”

“Is shamany a word?”

“It is now. You made hinky a word, I made shamany a word.”

“Hinky’s been a word since the nineteen twenties.”

Tony stared at her. “Really?”

She shrugged. “I think we’re way, way off topic now, don’t you? What’s wrong with Gibbs? Why doesn’t he trust his gut?”

Tony shook his head. “The dreams are a big part of it… the fact that we’re sharing them just makes it a lot worse. You know that’s not normal.” He leaned back against the table. “Last night, he dreamt I turned into the tree spirit. I was in the dream, but watching from across the room. We talked on the phone after –“ 

“On the phone? I thought you were staying at his place.”

“I was… we decided to see if nights apart stopped the shared dreaming. Obviously they didn’t. He fell asleep after, though, and we shared this dream that we were both back on that mountain and turned into foxes. We went running together.”

Abby crossed her arms over her chest. “So he thinks the tree spirit is sending the dreams?”

“I guess… causing them in some way, anyway.” Tony’s eyes met hers. “Abby, Gibbs is losing weight. He’s not eating, not sleeping well… he’s starting to get short-tempered upstairs, you know. Do you think your friend can figure this out?”

“I must say, Anthony, I’m a bit hurt that Jethro hasn’t come to me if he’s dealing with a medical problem.”

Tony pushed off from the table and turned around to see Ducky in his lab coat, standing in the doorway with his hands in his pockets, shooting him a disapproving look. Abby bit her lip and waved. “Hey, Ducky!”

Tony cleared his throat. “Wow… the Duckman, making with the sneaky. How much did you hear, exactly?”

Ducky’s eyebrows shot up. “I only just walked in to hear you saying that Jethro isn’t eating or sleeping properly. Was there more?”

Tony let out a long rush of air. “Yeah, there’s more. It has to do with our recent trip to New Hampshire.”

Ducky tilted his head to one side. “Yes, Ziva and Timothy came to me just the other day, asking what I knew, which is nothing, of course.”

Tony groaned quietly. “We told them to drop it.”

“Yes, well, they don’t appear to be listening.” Ducky looked at Abby. “So who is this friend whose medical knowledge is valued more highly than my own?”

“Ducky!” Abby ran forward and threw her arms around him. “It’s not like that. Gibbs isn’t having medical trouble, not really… it’s more of a spiritual nature.”

Ducky’s arms automatically went around the much taller woman while he met Tony’s gaze. “Is Jethro seeking counseling?”

“Not in a conventional sense, no… look, Ducky, he’s probably coming over to my place this evening. He seems to do better if I’m around. Why don’t you drop by tonight, assuming we don’t have a case?”

Ducky nodded. “I shall do that. I do wish you’d talked to me sooner, dear boy.”

Tony sighed. “Yeah… me too. Let’s hope Gibbs doesn’t decide to shoot me for doing it at all.” He headed for the door, patting Abby on the shoulder as he left. “Don’t spill the beans, Abs… let Gibbs decide how much to tell him.”

Abby nodded, while Ducky just stood there, a worried expression on his face.

**Unwanted**

Tony made his way back upstairs, trying to decide how to break this latest news to Gibbs. Away from work, Gibbs was calmer, easier to talk to, like he had been on the phone the previous night. It was a different story around the rest of the team, though.

Gibbs, McGee, and Ziva were all at their desks when he walked from the elevator back to his own desk. McGee and Ziva looked up as he approached; Gibbs didn’t.

“Nice of you to join us, DiNozzo.”

Tony grimaced as he sat down. “Was consulting with Abby, Boss.”

Gibbs didn’t say anything else, so Tony opened up his email and sent him a quick note.

_Greg the shaman delayed in New England. Was voicing general concerns to Abby when Ducky overheard… just about you not eating or sleeping. He’s concerned. I asked him to come to my place the evening._

He hit send, then spent the next few minutes covertly watching Gibbs until the man looked up from his paperwork and hit a few keys while looking at the monitor. Seconds later he slammed his hand down on the desk, shot Tony a vicious glare, then stood, grabbing his jacket as he stormed out of the bullpen and off to the elevator. 

Tony exhaled and sat back when Gibbs disappeared from view, accompanied by the usual ding of the elevator. Ziva and McGee rose as one and moved over to his desk.

“This is becoming intolerable,” Ziva declared.

“Tony,” McGee broke in, “you’ve got to do something. He’s been a bear since you guys got back from New Hampshire, and it’s only getting worse.”

Ziva leaned into Tony’s space. “Tell us what happened up there. We should all put our brains together and find a way to help him get past whatever it was.”

Tony made a face at the mental image that popped into his head. “Heads together, Ziva. Brains together sounds like a bad sci-fi movie.”

She rolled her eyes. “Brains, heads, our brains are in our heads. It is all the same.”

McGee shot her a look. “Seriously, Tony. Maybe we can help.”

“Believe me, the best thing you can do is focus on your work and stop trying to dig around behind our backs. It’s not helping. I’ve got it under control.”

The elevator dinged again, and a second later Gibbs’ voice rang out. “DiNozzo!”

“Oops, gotta go!” Tony jumped to his feet and ran for it, hearing McGee mutter behind him, “So that’s what control looks like?”

Gibbs was glaring when he got in and hit the button to go down. 

“Coffee, Boss?”

“What the hell, Tony? I don’t want to rehash all of this with Ducky.”

Tony raised his hands in a placating gesture. “Maybe you should, Gibbs. If Greg the shaman gets held up, and the dreams don’t get better… maybe Ducky can at least treat some of the symptoms, you know? Give you something to help you sleep, maybe stop the dreams.”

Gibbs stared at Tony for a moment; the anger slid from his face to be replaced by a sort of contrite confusion. “Hell, Tony… the dreams aren’t all bad.”

Tony looked at him carefully. “Was kinda fun running together in that last one,” he ventured.

“Yeah.” Gibbs looked down at the floor, then up again as the elevator stopped. “With me,” he said as he strode out.

Tony followed him to his favorite coffee shop. Gibbs ordered for each of them and paid too, which told Tony a lot about his state of mind. They sat at a small, out of the way table, and Tony raised his coffee after Gibbs gave it to him. “Thanks, Jethro.”

Gibbs nodded, then sipped at his own drink.

“You know,” Tony started tentatively, “Ducky knows something about everything. He might even know about tree spirits.”

Gibbs sighed and slumped in his chair. “Feel like I’m losing it,” he grumbled.

Tony shook his head. “I don’t think you are.” He leaned forward a bit. “I think our little experiment has told us everything it can… let me at least have your six at night. Dreams seem better if I’m there.”

Gibbs sipped thoughtfully at his coffee, then nodded. “Yeah.”

“Great. My place tonight?”

“Yeah. Okay.”

“And Ducky?”

Gibbs hesitated, then shook his head. 

“Jethro… I’ll follow your lead. If you don’t want to tell him what happened, make something up to explain the not eating and not sleeping… he can at least try to help with that.”

Gibbs looked at him for a long moment, then gave a short, single nod. “Alright.”

Tony smiled at him, then tried to cover his relief with a gulp of coffee. 

“Shall we go back? Paperwork on this last case is a bitch.”

They walked back slowly; once in the elevator, Tony took a chance and reached up to gently run his fingers through Gibbs’ hair and then squeeze his neck. “It’s gonna be okay.”

Gibbs leaned into the touch for a moment, so much like the fox had done that Tony could almost feel the soft fur under his hand.

**Offered**

Tony was cleaning up the last of their take out dinner when the doorbell rang. He poked his head out of the kitchen to see Gibbs get up from the couch and head for the door. Seconds later he heard voices, so he finished up the cleaning, washed his hands, and went out to the living room to see Ducky taking a seat on the overstuffed chair while Gibbs sat back down on the couch.

“Hey, Ducky.”

“Anthony.” Ducky nodded to him, then looked over at Gibbs. “My dear boy, you look positively haggard.”

“Gee, thanks.”

Ducky waved his hand as if brushing the sarcasm away. “I’m sure I’m only stating out loud what you’ve already seen in the mirror. Why have you waited this long to speak to me about it?”

Gibbs reached up to rub at his eyes, then turned to look at Tony. Tony looked back, trying to send his support with whatever decision Gibbs made. Ducky watched them, intrigued by their silent communication.

Finally Gibbs sighed and turned to his long-time friend. “Duck… this is going to sound crazy.”

Ducky smiled, looking back and forth between him and Tony. “I take it the two of you have finally taken steps?”

Tony straightened up on the couch. “Um… steps toward what?”

Ducky tilted his head. “Based on what I’ve observed as well as what I’ve heard from Timothy and Ziva, your relationship has undergone quite the change over the past several weeks. I assumed that you, Jethro, have been having some trouble understanding this new side of yourself.”

Gibbs stared at Ducky. “What the hell have you been observing?”

Ducky blinked but otherwise ignored Gibbs’ tone. “Your silent communication just now, the way the two of you stand closer together than has been your custom. The other day, I came around the corner outside interrogation and you, Anthony, had your hand on the back of Jethro’s head. You appeared to be petting him. All of that, together with a myriad of other observations as well as Timothy’s and Ziva’s complaints about your secrecy, simply led me to a logical conclusion.”

Tony remembered that incident in the hallway; the case they’d caught not long after getting back from New Hampshire had involved the kidnapping and murder of a Navy wife and her young daughter. They’d caught the killer, but Gibbs had been dealing with too many memories in addition to the stress from his encounter with the tree spirit; it had taken every strategy Tony could come up with to keep Gibbs from assaulting the man during questioning.

He looked at Gibbs now, searching for some hint of what to say. The older man was staring at Ducky, and suddenly started laughing. 

“In some ways, you’re not wrong, Duck. Tony and me… we’ve got stuff to talk about. But that’s easy compared to the rest of it.”

Ducky leaned forward. “Then tell me. Let me help you, Jethro.”

Gibbs sighed and looked at Tony. Then he gestured toward him. “Tell him.”

“All of it?”

“Might as well.”

Tony nodded. “Okay.” He turned toward Ducky. “A few weeks ago, I went looking for Gibbs late at night, but couldn’t find him. Found his clothes, though… on the floor, in the basement, with a silver fox inside them. Took the fox to Abby… who realized the fox and Gibbs were one and the same. She did some research, found out that a tree spirit from New Hampshire had been living in a tree that someone illegally cut down and sold for lumber… and Gibbs bought it for his boat. Abby did more research, figured out what we needed to do to get Gibbs back in his human form. We went to New Hampshire, got a tree seedling, hiked up the mountain, planted it, did this ritual thingy, and the next morning, Gibbs was human again. So we came home.”

Ducky stared at him for a long time, then turned to look at Gibbs, who continued the story. “Tree spirit got in my head… I’ve been having dreams ever since it turned me into a fox. Thing is, Tony shares those dreams with me now. So… what you thought you were observing – a little premature. Until I know what I’m feeling is me and not the spirit’s influence, I don’t trust it, and I don’t want to hurt Tony by trying.”

Ducky looked between the two of them. “I think I’d enjoy this story more if it were April the first.”

Tony shook his head. “Not pulling your leg, Ducky, I swear. Talk to Abby, or better yet, talk to Vance. He had to approve our trip, so he saw Gibbs in fox form.” Tony suddenly got to his feet. “Almost forgot…” He went quickly into his bedroom, coming out with a stack of pictures. “Here… I printed these after we got back.”

He handed the stack to Gibbs, who went through them quickly. “Didn’t know you did all this.”

“Had too… like you said before, Abby and me, we’re happy to have you back but we were gonna miss the fox.”

Gibbs passed the stack to Ducky, who went through them thoughtfully. He stopped at one picture that Gibbs had known about, when he’d been sitting with Abby in the basement, looking up at the camera. 

“This is certainly a fox… but those are your eyes, Jethro.”

Gibbs nodded. “It’s how Abby knew right away it was me.” He glanced at Tony with a raised eyebrow.

“I could see it too, you know,” Tony protested. “Didn’t want to believe it.”

Gibbs reached out and squeezed Tony’s hand, keeping his own there afterwards. Ducky looked up from the picture, clearly noting their hands but not saying anything about them.

“Well, Jethro, I must admit I didn’t come here tonight expecting anything like this.”

Gibbs gave him a small smile. “You thought I was having a sexual identity crisis.”

“Well, yes, I have no trouble admitting to that.”

Gibbs shrugged. “Tony’s always had my six, Duck. This just proved to both of us that we’re already more connected than we realized.”

Ducky leaned forward. “You’re sharing dreams?”

Both men nodded. “So,” Tony said, “what do you know about tree spirits?”

Ducky laughed. “I? Absolutely nothing, my boy. But I’m flattered you thought I would.” He settled back in his chair, looking at them both thoughtfully. “So this counseling you’re seeking, with Abby’s friend?”

Gibbs looked uncomfortable, so Tony spoke up. “He’s a Native American shaman. Greg the shaman. I forget which tribe… she told me, but I don’t remember.”

“Abenaki,” Gibbs supplied. 

“Yeah, that.”

“Greg the shaman…” Ducky mused. “Well, I certainly hope he will be more helpful than I can hope to be when it comes to unraveling the mystery of these dreams. All I can say to both of you, especially you, Jethro, is that if there’s any validity to what I’ve seen over the past decade or so, your feelings for each other are real and not the product of some meddling magician.”

“Nice alliteration!”

“Thank you, Anthony. Now, what I can do… Jethro, would you like me to prescribe a sleeping aid?”

Gibbs grimaced. “Don’t much like taking that stuff.”

Ducky nodded. “Anthony, are the two of you staying together outside of work?”

“We are now, at least I think so. Gibbs seems to sleep better and eat more when I’m around.”

“Good. Then, Jethro, I prescribe a nightly dose of Anthony’s company to help keep you grounded until you can get some answers from this shaman. I shall also write you a prescription… get it filled in the morning. You don’t have to take the pills, but at least you’ll have them should you need them.”

Gibbs inclined his head. “Thanks, Duck.”

Ducky pulled a prescription pad out of his jacket pocket, wrote quickly, then tore off the sheet and handed it to Gibbs. He stood, draping his long coat over his arms. “Please do keep me updated. If there’s anything else I can do to help, I would very much like to know about it.” The others rose to their feet, walking with Ducky to the door. He turned to look at them both before opening it. “I must say, I do feel privileged that you took me into your confidence. I certainly understand why you didn’t at first, and why you haven’t told Ziva or Timothy.”

“Thanks, Duck.”

“You might consider trying to act more like yourself at work; that might encourage them to leave all this alone.”

Gibbs put his hand up on Tony’s shoulder. “Staying here will help.” He reached out to shake Ducky’s hand. Tony did the same, then opened the door, watching Ducky walk down the hall for a moment before closing and bolting it. 

He turned to look at Gibbs. “You surprised me there.”

Gibbs shrugged. “Seemed like the thing to do.”

They moved back to the couch and sat down. “You think he’s right? What he’s observed, I mean?”

Gibbs reached for Tony’s hand and entwined their fingers. He looked at their joined hands for a moment, then up at Tony. “Feel right to you?”

“Yeah.”

Gibbs nodded. “Me too.” He took in a breath, then hesitated before speaking. “Still not ready to jump into something… not without knowing more about what’s going on.”

“I get that.” Tony reached up to stroke the back of Gibbs’ head. “This sort of thing okay?”

Gibbs nodded. “Yeah. Calms me down.”

“Good. Me too.”

They sat there for a while, thinking, until Tony perked up. “You ever see Lord of the Rings?”

Gibbs shook his head. “Read the books.”

Tony sighed. “Should have placed a bet. Wanna watch the first movie?”

“First?”

“There’s three. I think you’ll like them.”

“Yeah, sure.”

Tony let go of Gibbs’ hand and moved to his DVD collection, pulling out one of the cases. “The Fellowship of the Ring, Extended Version.” He popped the disc in the player, then went around the apartment turning off the lights. 

Several hours later, Gibbs slept on the couch while Tony lay back in the recliner, watching over him and making plans to get a larger bed delivered as soon as possible. He fell asleep eventually, and neither dreamed that night.


	3. Perspectives

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Many, many thanks for all the reviews! Can’t tell you how much I appreciate them! Special thanks to gosgirl, who helped me out by tossing ideas back and forth across the pond, and to Ziver69 who gave me a bunny._

**Subterfuge**

Tony flipped through the cold case file on his desk, shifting in his chair for the umpteenth time while glancing over at Gibbs… again. This time their eyes met; Gibbs rolled his and shook his head. A few seconds later a new window popped up on Tony’s monitor.

_Lj_gibbs: You’re worse than usual._

_Ad_dinozzo: Want to go talk to Ducky._

_Lj_gibbs: So go already._

_Ad_dinozzo: Need a reason so the terrible twosome won’t interrogate me later._

“DiNozzo!”

“Yeah, Boss!”

“Go see Ducky. He’s got that update on the Belford case ready.”

Tony jumped up to his feet. “On my way.” He moved out from behind his desk; Ziva sat up straight and stared at Gibbs.

“I did not hear the phone.”

Tony slowed his steps, sharing a grimace with McGee before glancing over at Gibbs, who leveled Ziva with his best blank stare.

“You finished with that cold case, David?”

“I am just saying –“ 

“If you’re done with that one, I should have your report in the next five minutes.”

“Gibbs, I –“ 

“Next case report in thirty.”

Ziva muttered something under her breath but refocused on the work in front of her. Tony sped up and made his way to the back elevator, hitting the button and sighing in relief when the doors opened immediately. As soon as they closed behind him, he pulled out his phone and sent a quick text. 

_Still want me to talk to him about what we discussed this morning?_

It took a moment, but he got a response before he reached Autopsy.

_Yes._

Tony smiled slightly, then stepped into Autopsy. Jimmy Palmer stood at the sink; there was no sign of Ducky.

“Autopsy Gremlin! What’cha doin’?”

Jimmy looked up and grinned at him. “Cleaning pipettes.”

Tony blinked, then walked over to take a closer look. “You mean you actually do that? I always figured it was just an excuse to get out of Gibbs’ way.”

“Both, actually.” Jimmy smiled. “I clean them, then they go in the autoclave for sterilization. Wouldn’t want to contaminate evidence!”

Tony clapped the younger man on the shoulder. “We’ll make a field agent of you yet. Ducky around?”

Jimmy nodded. “Abby called him to her lab maybe twenty minutes ago.”

“Awesome. I’ll head over there.” He started to step away, then hesitated. “If Tim or Ziva ask –“

“I have no idea where any of you are.”

Tony reached up and touched the side of his nose. “Thank you, Black Lung.”

Jimmy reached up and did the same, leaving a dollop of laboratory soap on his face. “Anytime, Very Special Agent.”

**Conference**

Tony found Abby and Ducky together in her office. They were both sitting at her computer, looking at the monitor. 

“Anthony, my dear boy! Come, join us.”

“Hey Ducky, Abs.”

Abby looked up at him and smiled. “Hey, Tony! I’m just showing Ducky my research on tree spirits.”

Ducky sat back in his chair and turned toward Tony, who leaned against a nearby file cabinet. “I must say, Native American mythology is truly fascinating. I feel as though there’s a whole new world to be discovered. I am, of course, fully conversant with both Greek and Roman mythology, as they were considered essential to a young man’s education back in the day, and I’ve learned much of South American myths, although by that time my focus was more on medicinal lore. Celtic, well, that goes without saying, of course –“

“So, what do you think, Ducky?” Tony interrupted. “You really buying into all this?”

Ducky peered up at him. “Did you think I wasn’t?”

Tony shifted his feet. “Well… I didn’t expect you to accept it all as easily as you did last night.”

Ducky nodded thoughtfully. “I suppose I can understand your concern. I did have a moment or two of hesitation after I arrived home, but,” he held up his right hand, pointing his forefinger toward the ceiling, “that picture you shared was most convincing. There’s no doubt in my mind that those eyes were Jethro’s, and not canine in any way.”

Abby nodded emphatically. “It was so obvious, right from the start.” She looked over at Tony. “Except to mister stubborn over here.”

Tony rolled his eyes. “It was sort of difficult to take in, you know. And I didn’t want to believe it.”

“No,” Ducky commented, looking at him shrewdly, “I can’t imagine you would.”

Tony just looked at him, head tilted slightly to one side. 

“My dear boy, it’s quite obvious that one of your main goals in life is keeping that man safe, even from himself if need be.”

Tony pushed off from the cabinet, reaching down to pick up the stuffed bat sitting on Abby’s desk. “Yeah, well…” 

Ducky reached out and took hold of Tony’s arm. “Anthony, getting involved with you would be one of the smartest things Jethro’s done since I’ve known him.”

Tony’s hands stilled, and he met Ducky’s eyes. “Yeah?”

“Yes, indeed.” Ducky watched Tony’s face, changing the subject when he saw his eyes drop. “But about my acceptance of your story… it’s been obvious for the past week or so that Jethro’s been deeply troubled, somewhat lost, I’d say. You and Abigail have clearly been concerned; he is too important to you both for you to treat his concerns as a joke. And for him to perpetuate it… well, that would be completely out of character.”

Tony nodded and put the bat back on the desk. “So… what do I do to help him?”

“What you’ve been doing, my boy. How was he last night, after I left?”

“We watched a movie, then he crashed on the couch. I slept on my recliner.”

“Any dreams?”

“None.”

“That is an encouraging sign.”

Tony shrugged. “Yeah, as long as they aren’t nightmares. Kinda miss the other ones, though.”

Abby opened her mouth, then shut it quickly, compressing her lips together. Tony grinned at her. “No sex dreams, Abs, sorry.”

She gave him a small smile. “I tried not to go there, really.”

He laid one hand over his heart, then used it to point at her. “Don’t ever change.”

Her smile broadened, and Tony winked at her.

Ducky stood. “I should be getting back to Mr. Palmer.”

“Hold up, Ducky… Gibbs and I were talking this morning, and we have a question for you.”

“Yes?”

“McGee and Ziva… they’re clearly not gonna let it go. Tim would, I think, but you know how Ziva’s nose gets out of joint if she thinks she’s being left out. We’d tell them the truth if we didn’t think it was going to make things worse… so we’re looking for a way to put them off. Do you think there’s something medical you could say Gibbs has, something that they’d understand and accept?”

Ducky sighed. “Anthony… I don’t have to _say_ he has something. He _does_ have a medical condition brought on by this experience.”

“Um, that would be…”

“Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.”

Abby grimaced. “Really?”

Tony frowned, staring at the wall for a moment before moving his gaze to the medical examiner’s face. “It fits, doesn’t it?”

Ducky nodded. “Nightmares, trouble sleeping, irritability – yes, I know, that would be almost normal – not eating… now, that one may be a result of the rest, rather than a more immediate sign.” He glanced at Abby, and reached out to pat her reassuringly on the shoulder. “It’s alright, my dear… I’d be more worried if he were shutting himself off from us, but he’s doing the opposite. He’s talked to us, and he’s actively seeking Tony’s help.” 

“What’ve I got, Duck?”

“PTSD, Jethro… but you already knew that, didn’t you?”

Gibbs met Tony’s eyes as he moved further into the room, then shifted his gaze to Ducky’s. “Yeah, saw enough of it in the Corps to recognize the symptoms. Figured it was a good possibility.” He grimaced slightly. “Wanted to be stronger than that,” he admitted.

Ducky’s eyes narrowed. “You _are_ strong, Jethro. The very fact that you haven’t shut us out as you’ve tried to deal with the aftermath of what had to be an extremely difficult experience proves that you have tremendous strength.”

Abby pushed past Ducky and Tony and hit Gibbs with a bear hug. “You _are_ strong, Gibbs! You’re Gibbs! You’re the strongest man I know.”

He hugged her back. “Thanks, Abs.”

“You’re welcome.” She squeezed him tighter. “And I don’t think you’re being influenced by the tree spirit. I just don’t think it can reach that far. Your feelings for Tony are yours, not its.” She moved back a bit to look at his face. “I mean, I don’t think the tree spirit has feelings for Tony, it’s just that if you weren’t so worried about those feelings and about Tony’s feelings, _then_ maybe you’d be under the influence, of the spirit, I mean, not drunk or something, ‘cause you don’t do that as much as you used to, do you? What I’m trying to say is that you being worried about your feelings means they’re your feelings, not feelings it forced on you.”

The three men stared at her for a moment, then Ducky cleared his throat. “I do agree with Abigail, Jethro. When I consider how close you and Tony have grown over the years, together with my own observations and the way he’s able to help you now, I must say I feel it would be completely natural for you both to contemplate taking your relationship to another level.”

Gibbs glanced at Tony, then blinked several times before clearing his own throat. Tony grinned. “Before Gibbs starts looking for escape routes,” he made a show of ducking out the way of a threatened head slap, “maybe we should move on.”

Ducky and Abby shared a smile before Ducky stepped forward to pat Gibbs’ forearm. “Just think about it, Jethro.” He started to move toward the door. “Send Timothy and Ziva to me whenever it’s convenient.” He began humming a tune before breaking it off. “I really must return to Autopsy… I told Mr. Palmer to clean pipettes, but I just remembered they’re the disposable ones. I do hope he hasn’t wasted too much time on that.”

The three of them watched him go; Tony bit his lip and made a mental note to give Jimmy some grief later. Abby turned to look at Gibbs. “Did that help?”

Gibbs leaned in and kissed her cheek. “Yeah, Abs. Thanks.” He turned to leave. “Come on, Tony. Let’s get McGee and David off our backs.”

“On your six, Boss!” Tony moved into Abby’s space, pulled her into a hug, spun in a quick circle, set her down, then followed Gibbs out of the room. 

Abby grabbed Bert off his perch on top of the file cabinet, and squeezed hard. “He’ll be okay, Bert. You’ll see.”

**Elevator**

Tony stopped the elevator as soon as it was between floors.

“You okay? That was more group sharing since… well, ever.”

Gibbs leaned back against the elevator wall and laughed quietly. “Yeah… no kidding.” He shook his head. “Feel like I’m a sample under one of Abby’s microscopes.”

Tony moved closer and reached out to lay his hand on the back of Gibbs’ neck; the other man leaned into the touch and closed his eyes. “For what it’s worth, Jethro… you may have PTSD, but you’re handling it well.”

Gibbs shrugged, keeping his eyes shut. “Know I’m not as bad off as some of the guys I served with.” He turned to look at Tony. “Some of that’s ‘cause of you.”

Tony inclined his head and took a chance. “For you… anything.”

Gibbs looked at him seriously. “I know. Just… don’t want to take advantage.”

“You’re not. You wouldn’t – tree spirit or no. I have faith in you, Jethro.”

Gibbs’ eyes darkened. “Means a lot, Tony.”

They stared at each other for a moment, then Tony smiled slightly and dropped his hand. “Not the place to continue this.”

Gibbs returned the smile, his a bit rueful. “Not the time either. But, Tony,” he said, reaching out to grasp Tony’s arm when the younger man reached across to hit the elevator switch, “I heard what they said, loud and clear. I’ll think it over.”

Tony met his eyes and nodded. “I know.”

Gibbs held on a moment longer, then dropped his hand and Tony set the elevator back in motion.

**Partial Truths**

They stepped off the elevator; Gibbs turned to Tony. “Go with them… give them enough to believe it.”

“Will do, Boss.”

Tony followed Gibbs back to their desks. Gibbs spoke as he rounded the corner. “McGee, Ziva… go with DiNozzo to see Ducky.”

The junior agents looked up, then at each other before they rose to follow Tony back to the elevator. He glanced back to see Gibbs sitting at his desk, leaning back in his chair and staring blankly at the monitor.

No one said a word until the elevator was moving, at which point McGee spoke up. “The Belford case doesn’t need all of us… so what’s going on?”

Ziva turned to face Tony. “Are we finally going to get some answers?”

Tony looked at her expressionlessly, then stepped out of the elevator while the doors were still opening. He led the way into Autopsy, where Jimmy Palmer was just dumping a load of soapy pipettes into a trashcan. Tony walked over to him, placing both hands on his shoulders. “My condolences, Black Lung.”

Jimmy sighed heavily, then shot Tony a small grin. “It happens.”

Ducky walked over to them all. “My, that was quick.” He glanced at the soggy pile. “Mr. Palmer… why don’t you take Abigail out to lunch? My treat.”

Jimmy’s eyes widened. “Really? That’s… awesome! Thank you, Dr. Mallard!” He hurried out the door, forgetting to remove his soapy gloves.

Ducky chuckled as he watched him go, then turned to look at the three agents. “Shall we all sit down?”

Chairs were moved around until the four of them were seated in a loose circle near Ducky’s desk. The M.E. removed his glasses and wiped them with a clean handkerchief before putting them back on and looking seriously at McGee and Ziva. “Jethro has agreed to let me speak with you both on his behalf.”

McGee shifted nervously. “He’s alright, isn’t he?”

Ducky sighed, looking at Tony, who took his cue. “He’s okay, Tim. It’s just… well, remember what he said, after we got back from New Hampshire?”

McGee’s brow furrowed; Ziva was the one who spoke up. “He told us that you saved his life.”

Tony nodded. “It was a… difficult trip. I can’t give you details, per Vance’s orders, but there was a lot at stake. I told Tim there was a real chance that Gibbs wouldn’t make it back.”

Ziva’s eyes widened, then narrowed angrily. “You went into such a dangerous situation without letting us be there to back you up?”

Tony nodded. “Vance’s decision. Limit the risk. The situation was such that more people would have been suspicious. One night, halfway through the trip… it was really touch and go. Neither of us knew if he was going to make it.”

Tony fell silent as he remembered Gibbs’ misery when he didn’t immediately turn back to his human form, and his own fear that he’d messed up the ritual. It was only when Ducky cleared his throat that Tony brought himself back to the present.

“Yeah, well… we managed to get out of there and get back home, obviously.” He looked over at Ducky, who nodded approvingly before taking up his end of the story.

“I’ve met with Jethro and Tony on more than one occasion to discuss the aftermath of their experience. I take it you’ve noticed Jethro’s recent short temper?”

McGee nodded. “Would be hard not to.”

“It’s a symptom, along with lack of sleep and nightmares –“

Ziva sat up suddenly. “You are saying he has post traumatic stress.”

“Yes. I made the official diagnosis recently.”

Ziva looked at him, then at Tony. “He seems to be handling it well enough…” Her voice trailed off uncertainly.

Tony shrugged, then looked at Ducky. “I’ve been staying with him as much as possible.”

McGee’s eyebrows shot up. “He’s okay with that?”

Ducky intervened. “Jethro has seen enough cases in his military service to recognize the signs. He knows one of the best ways to combat this problem is to get help. The fact that Anthony was present and knows the details of what happened likely make it easier for Jethro to let him be there.”

Ziva was staring thoughtfully at the floor. “We have been making things worse for him by pushing for answers, yes?”

Tony nodded. “You know he wouldn’t share this unless he felt he had to.”

McGee looked at Ziva, then at Tony. “We’ll stop,” he said firmly. 

Ziva nodded. “Please… tell him we are sorry.”

“You know how he feels about apologies.”

“Tell him anyway,” McGee said. “If he wants to dole out a few head slaps, we can take it.”

“And if there is anything we can do to help…”

Tony smiled at her. “I’ll let you know. Just act normal, okay?”

They both nodded. Ziva looked seriously at Tony. “You are not suffering any ill effects?”

“I was never in any real danger.” He ignored Ducky’s skeptical expression.

McGee spoke up. “Ducky, is there anything else we should know?”

Ducky shook his head. “I take it you are both familiar with the basics? Then no… just try to, I believe the phrase is, ‘cut him some slack’.”

Ziva nodded and McGee smiled. 

“Okay you two, back to work. If you have any questions, talk to me or Ducky.”

They all got to their feet, replaced the chairs, and the two junior agents headed out. Tony went to follow, but was restrained by Ducky’s hand on his arm. 

“Anthony, stay a moment.”

McGee glanced back and met Tony’s eyes; Tony tilted his head toward the elevator, McGee nodded, and he and Ziva disappeared.

Tony turned to face Ducky. “That went well.”

“Indeed. I am now more concerned about you.”

“Me? I’m fine, Ducky.”

“While you did not have such a change forced on you, you were placed in a position of grave responsibility. I saw your face when you said you didn’t know if Jethro was going to come back from that trip. I take it there was truth to that statement?”

Tony hesitated, then nodded slowly. “I think we all assumed as soon as we planted the seedling and said the ritual, Gibbs would be human again. We waited for hours… nothing happened. I think that was the first time Gibbs really believed he’d be a fox for the rest of his life. It wasn’t until the next morning that he changed back.”

“And you?”

“Me?” Tony almost shrugged it off, but something in Ducky’s eyes stopped him. “I thought I screwed up. That I did something wrong, messed up the ritual… that it was my fault Gibbs was still a fox. And then the next morning I couldn’t find him… thought for a moment he took off, didn’t want us to have to deal with him if he wasn’t human.”

“But he didn’t.”

Tony shook his head. “No. He doesn’t remember much, but he’d left the tent, been, I dunno, called by the spirit or something, and ended up back at the tree. He woke up not far from there, human again.”

Ducky looked at him for a long time, to the point where Tony started getting nervous. “I, uh, should probably get back to work…”

“I think you went through a difficult time too, my dear friend. It’s clear that Jethro is very important to you, and you’d have been deeply hurt if you weren’t successful at returning him to his natural form. Take care of him, but be sure to take care of yourself too… talk to me, or to Abigail, if you need to, but most importantly, talk to Jethro. Are these shared dreams a problem for you?”

Tony shook his head. “They don’t affect me as much as they do him… I think I know they’re dreams, when I’m in them, but to him, maybe since he really was a fox, they’re more real.”

Ducky finally let go of his arm; Tony was surprised to realize he’d still been holding it. “Alright… but I suggest you make sure to talk with Abby’s shaman friend, once he arrives.”

“I will, I can promise you that.”

Ducky smiled at him. “And tell Jethro I thank you both for the trust you have placed in me.”

“Couldn’t ask for a better friend, Ducky.”

Tony left Autopsy, and took the stairs back up to the bullpen, feeling the need to move. Gibbs was alone there when he arrived; he looked up as Tony walked back to his desk, and Tony could see him relax as soon as he sat down. 

“Hey. They go to lunch?”

“Yeah. Said they’d pick some up for us.”

“Sweet.”

“Everything go okay?”

“All good. Think they’ll back off now. They just needed to feel part of the team.”

Gibbs stifled a yawn, reaching up to rub at his eyes. “Good. One less thing to worry about.”

Tony watched him for a moment, then started typing.

_Ad_dinozzo: My place again tonight? Second movie?_

_Lj_gibbs: Sounds good._

_Ad_dinozzo: Take the bed this time. You need more sleep._

_Lj_gibbs: We could share._

_Ad_dinozzo: You sure?_

_Lj_gibbs: Why not? Did it before._

_Ad_dinozzo: Good point. I’m game if you are._

Tony glanced over at Gibbs, who was already looking at him. He smiled, Gibbs rolled his eyes, and for a little while, everything felt normal again.


	4. Heart to Heart

Tony sighed as he stepped into his apartment, maneuvering bags of take-out as he swung his foot against the door to close it behind him. He used his elbow to switch on the lights, relaxing as the warm glow lit the place. He smiled slightly, then moved into the kitchen to dump the bags on the counter before heading to the bedroom to change. 

“Sanctuary!” he called out quietly, grinning to himself and he exchanged slacks for sweatpants.

Gibbs appeared in the doorway. “What was that?”

Tony straightened up, staring at the other man. “Damn, you’re sneaky. I didn’t hear the door.”

Gibbs shrugged. “I like to keep in practice. What did you say?”

“Sanctuary? Lon Chaney as Quasimodo in The Hunchback of Notre Dame, 1923. Classic.”

Gibbs made a show of looking around. “I don’t see any bells.”

“You do have some cultural background. Always suspected.”

Gibbs tilted his head. “Sanctuary, huh? That why you’ve never had McGee or David over here?”

Tony pulled on his sweatshirt. “Yeah, I guess. Not interested in hearing their comments as they try to analyze everything.”

“Ducky, me, Abby…”

“You guys accept things easier.” Tony finished putting things away, then motioned toward the duffle bag hanging from Gibbs’ hand. “I’ll unpack the food… take over in here.”

Gibbs nodded and tossed the bag on the queen size bed. “When’d you get this bigger bed?”

“A few months ago.” Tony raised his voice so Gibbs could hear him from the kitchen. “Decided a solitary bedroom didn’t have to mean I had to sacrifice comfort. ‘S nice to spread out, you know?”

He listened for an answer but didn’t get one. He unpacked the burgers and fries he’d picked up at the diner, then went into the liquor cabinet and pulled out the bottle of Gibbs’ favorite bourbon, pouring just a splash into each glass. Gibbs came in and sat at the counter; Tony eyed his baggy jeans and USMC t-shirt over the long-sleeved shirt, sighing noisily.

Gibbs took a huge bite of his burger and chewed, looking at Tony from the corner of his eye. “What?”

Tony gestured toward Gibbs’ upper body. “You are never going to set any fashion trends, you know.”

Gibbs snorted. “Not trying.”

“Obviously.”

Gibbs smiled as he popped a fry into his mouth. “If you’re really good, for your birthday I’ll let you buy me an outfit.”

“Shouldn’t that be your birthday present? You’re supposed to give _me_ something for my birthday.”

“You think I want some fancy outfit for my birthday? Definitely a gift for you, not me.”

Tony grinned as he sipped the bourbon; it had been a while since they’d bantered quite like this, and he was glad to have it back. 

After dinner, Tony convinced Gibbs to take his drink into the living room while he cleaned up. Once he was done, he poured himself a bit more bourbon and then stood in the doorway, watching Gibbs as he sat on the couch and stared at the blank television screen, his glass on the coffee table in front of him.

Several different emotions chased across Gibbs’ face; Tony thought he recognized impatience and discontent as the most obvious. When those were replaced by sadness, though, Tony moved, sitting a few away on the couch.

“You look like you’re thinking hard.”

Gibbs glanced at him, then leaned back, resting his head on the back of the couch and looking up at the ceiling. “This isn’t me, Tony.”

Tony blinked at that. “Who are you then, and what have you done with the real Gibbs?”

Gibbs huffed out a breath and reached up to run his fingers through his hair. “I’m serious. I don’t… I’m not this open, easy to read. Don’t want to be. Yet here I am with you, talking to Ducky, Abby…”

Tony waited, but Gibbs didn’t say anything else, just closed his eyes and sat there. 

“Well…” Tony cleared his throat. “Ducky said it – you’ve been through a pretty traumatic experience. Bound to change you, at least a bit.”

Gibbs sat up suddenly, then got to his feet and began pacing around the room. Tony set his own glass down on the coffee table and watched him.

“Guys I served with, good, dedicated Marines, some of them saw and did things they couldn’t accept. They were wounded, or they had to kill, or they watched friends die… they’re the ones who’ve been through something traumatic. They had PTSD, some of them to the point where they couldn’t serve anymore. And what the hell did I do? I was building a boat.” 

Tony leaned forward, resting his elbows on his legs. “Gibbs… Jethro.”

Gibbs turned to face him.

“Are you saying you haven’t _earned_ Ducky’s diagnosis? ‘Cause that’s kind of silly.”

“Silly?” Gibbs eyes narrowed.

“You think most people would handle waking up as a different species? Not being able to talk, having to rely on others, not knowing if you were gonna be yourself again – ever? If Ducky’s right, I’m surprised it’s not hitting you harder than it has.”

Gibbs stared at him for a moment, then his shoulders slumped a bit and he walked over to the window near the piano, looking out at the city. Tony waited again for him to say something, but Gibbs stayed silent, so Tony got up and walked over to him until he was standing next to him. 

“Look, Jethro – it’s okay if I call you that, right?”

Gibbs sighed and continued to look out the window. “Of course it is.”

“Ah, okay. Well, I don’t know what it was like for you most of the time you were a fox. But I do know you were more affectionate, more open… playful even. Maybe some of that is sticking with you?” Tony tried to meet Gibbs’ eyes, but the other man kept his gaze where it was. “I know you used to say that second B stood for bastard… but you’ve mellowed a bit in the past several years. Maybe being the fox helped you reach that side of yourself?” He paused, grimaced a bit, then spoke more hesitantly. “What were you like before I met you? Before you lost your family?”

Gibbs stiffened, then turned to face him, meeting Tony’s gaze, his eyes roaming over the younger man’s face. Then he seemed to shake himself a bit, and turned to go back to the coffee table, where he grabbed his bourbon and downed it in a single motion.

Tony leaned on the piano, crossed his arms loosely over his chest, and waited. 

Gibbs stood there, looking down at the empty glass, then set it down carefully and turned to look at Tony. “Shannon and Kelly… they got the best part of me. When I lost them, something inside me shut down. Never did get it back.”

Tony tried to decide if he should push harder, but before he could say anything Gibbs continued. “We would have movie nights when I was home, the three of us on the couch, watching movies Kelly would like. Sometimes we’d have popcorn fights. I remember…” His voice trailed off; Tony held his breath. “I remember so much laughter, feeling happier than I ever had, before or since.” He turned to face Tony, who breathed in sharply when he saw moisture in Gibbs’ eyes. “Tried to get it back, but none of the women since Shannon could get me to let my guard down.”

They stared at each other, and Tony took a careful step forward. “You let me get close, when we were in New Hampshire.”

Gibbs stared a moment longer, then nodded slowly, holding Tony’s gaze. “I wanted to. Felt right. Easy.”

“Like it was okay because you weren’t entirely yourself.”

“Maybe.”

They looked at each other a moment longer, then Gibbs cleared his throat and looked away. Tony reached up to scratch his head; his gaze landed on his DVD collection. “Wanna watch the second movie in the trilogy?”

Gibbs followed his gaze, then shook his head slowly. “Not sure I’ve got the focus for it.”

“No problem. What do you want to do?”

Gibbs sat back down on the couch and rested his head on the back. “No clue.”

Tony moved forward, sitting next to him, this time closer. “You tired? Could just go to sleep.”

Gibbs sighed, then surprised Tony by shifting over until he was leaning against him. “Usually this time of night I’m working on the boat.”

Tony hesitated for a moment, then reached up with his free hand, gently touching Gibbs’ face. “We could go over to your place if you want, hang out there, see if you can get back into it.”

Gibbs shook his head. “Maybe tomorrow.”

Tony started to speak, and closed his mouth. _Don’t push_ , he chided himself. 

“Wanna listen to some music? Try to relax?”

Gibbs nodded toward the piano. “You play that thing?”

“Been a while, but yeah. How about letting me practice a few times first, so I don’t embarrass myself?”

Gibbs huffed out a laugh. “Sure.”

Tony got up and headed for his stereo, putting in a CD and then heading back to the couch as the sound of a piano concerto filled the air. Gibbs listened for a moment, then shook his head. “You are full of surprises.”

Tony shrugged. “Helps me unwind.”

Gibbs looked over at him, then reached out to tug him closer, keeping his arm around him and resting his hand on his shoulder. “Thanks, Tony.”

Tony relaxed into his side. “For what, exactly?”

“Having my six. Being that loyal Saint Bernard all these years. Being patient.”

Tony smiled. “You’re welcome.”

They sat there in silence for a while, Gibbs deep in thought while Tony eventually dozed off. He woke up when the music ended, sitting up and stretching while Gibbs watched. 

Tony used a remote to shut the stereo off, then turned to look at Gibbs. “Time to turn in?”

Gibbs nodded slowly. “I can stay out here if you’d rather.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. You said it yourself, we shared a bed before, no reason we can’t do it again.”

Tony held out his hand, and Gibbs took it, letting himself be pulled to his feet. They took turns in the bathroom; Tony stripped down to boxers before getting into bed, and Gibbs joined him a few minutes later in boxers and his t-shirt. 

Tony turned off the bedside lamp; dim light from the street made its way in through the blinds. “Night, Jethro.”

Gibbs grunted and shifted onto his side, his back to Tony, who reached out and laid his hand on Gibbs shoulder for a moment. “Sleep well.”

Gibbs tensed, then turned around so he was facing Tony. “You too.” He lifted a hand, reaching forward to trace Tony’s face with his fingertips. 

Tony didn’t move, just waited to see what Gibbs would do. _Don’t push, don’t push…_

Gibbs leaned forward and gently touched his lips to Tony’s forehead. “Still working it through, Tony.”

Tony nodded, reaching for Gibbs’ hand and squeezing the fingers that had been resting on his face. “I don’t mind waiting.”

Gibbs returned the pressure, the moved back, resting his head on the pillow and closing his eyes. Tony moved their hands down to the mattress, keeping the contact between them as he fell asleep.

_He was on the mountainside again, at the campsite where they played a cross between tag and keep-away. There was no sign of their tent, or anything else. Gibbs raised his hand, relieved to see that he actually had a hand instead of a paw. The light was strange… either twilight or just before dawn, Gibbs wasn’t sure. There was a crashing noise off to his right; he turned to face it, getting ready to face whatever threat was coming at him._

_Tony burst into the clearing, looking around frantically. “Gibbs!!” He ran to the other side, grabbing onto a tree trunk. “Damn it, Gibbs! Where the hell are you?”_

_Gibbs tried to call out to him, but he couldn’t make a sound. He tried to move forward, but it felt as though his feet were anchored to the ground._

_Tony turned around, half staggering into the clearing, then sat on one of the large rocks. His shoulders slumped, and he rested his forehead on one hand. “Think, Anthony… where would he go?” Tony looked up, and Gibbs felt as if he’s been punched in the gut at the sight of the naked despair on his face. “I screwed up… should have been Abby here, not me… must have messed up the ritual.” He stood, started moving in another direction, calling out Gibbs’ name. Then he stopped, falling to his knees. “How the hell am I going to find a fox if he doesn’t want to be found?”_

_Gibbs felt a cold breeze on the back of his neck. He turned to see one of the large trees shift form; the tree spirit stood there then, reaching out for him, and Gibbs stumbled backwards, running into Ducky, who glared at him._

_“So, Jethro, you’ll run away from your fears, but you won’t run to help Anthony?”_

_Gibbs tried to protest, but he still couldn’t speak. Tony remained on his knees, head in his hands, talking to himself, trying to decide what to do. He didn’t seem to notice either of them. Gibbs tried to reach out for him, but now even his arms weren’t under his control._

_Then the long branch-like fingers of the tree spirit landed on his shoulder and he felt himself start to shift into the shape of the fox._

Gibbs woke to Tony calling his name. “Jethro, come on, wake up. You’re human, we’re home, you’re okay…”

He sat up. “I’m awake.”

Tony leaned over and turned on the light. “That was… interesting.”

Gibbs rubbed his eyes, then looked at Tony. “Ducky looked pretty pissed off.”

“No kidding.” Tony looked at him searchingly. “It didn’t happen like that.”

Gibbs nodded. “I know… but it could have.”

“You’d have taken off and left me on that mountain? Knowing I wouldn’t stop looking for you?”

Gibbs stared at him for a long moment. “No… no, I wouldn’t .”

“Didn’t think so.”

Gibbs looked at Tony for a moment, then shook his head. “I’m sorry, Tony.”

Tony stared at him. “Uh, wow. You break a rule and I don’t even know why.”

“I’ve been so wrapped up in my own head that I never really thought about how much you’ve been dealing with.”

“I wasn’t a fox.”

“No… but you were the one who had to get us to that mountain, and that dream gave me the strong impression that you were worried the ritual wouldn’t work.”

Tony shrugged. “Not exactly used to that sort of thing.” He bit his lip. “Can’t say I felt all that great when you didn’t turn back right away… and when I woke up the next morning and you were gone…”

Gibbs didn’t think, he just reached out and pulled Tony into a hug. “I wouldn’t have left you like that. I don’t know what I would have done… but I would have somehow let you know.”

Tony’s arms came around him and he held on tightly. “You know,” he said, “if we’re going to keep sharing dreams, we need to share more fun dreams.”

Gibbs chuckled at that. “No kidding.”

Tony pulled away and met his eyes, a small smile on his face. “Maybe if we plan out our next dream ahead of time?”

Gibbs couldn’t help but smile at that thought. Tony’s eyes lit up. “Hey, maybe instead of dreaming about hiking and foxes and tree spirits and annoyed medical examiners, we could dream about sailing or something!”

Gibbs reached out and pulled Tony close again, this time pressing a kiss to his lips instead of his forehead. 

A surprised noise came from Tony’s throat, but he got with the program quickly, returning the kiss and sliding one hand up Gibbs’ back and into his hair, while the other hand moved to the back of his neck and held him in place. 

Gibbs had one hand on the back of Tony’s head, one on his shoulder. Their lips slid against each other, and there was just a hint of tongue sweeping back and forth; he wasn’t entirely sure whose. 

Tony shifted closer, pushing Gibbs back toward the mattress. Someone made a noise, or maybe both of them did; Tony let go suddenly, pulling back, and Gibbs thought he heard him whisper ‘don’t push,’ but he wasn’t sure. 

Tony shot him a small smile, and seemed to be hunting for something to say. Gibbs moved forward, and Tony’s eyes widened as he was the one pushed backwards, Gibbs moving to cover him with his body, taking up where they’d just left off.

Gibbs took one of Tony’s hands in his, lacing their fingers together and holding them on the pillow next to Tony’s head. Tony’s mouth opened under his, and they lost themselves a little as they tasted and explored each other for several minutes. 

Gibbs slowed the pace, eventually pulling back and looking carefully at Tony, who stared up at him, then grinned widely. 

“Wow. Bossman’s got mad skills.”

Gibbs laughed, ducking his head. Then he raised it back up to look at Tony seriously. “I’m not running away from you, Tony, or from this. I want to believe what I feel is real and just me… and I know Abby and Ducky made a lot of sense. But…” 

Tony’s grin changed to a more relaxed smile. “It’s alright, Jethro. I get it, I do. Still more than willing to wait for you to be sure.” He waggled his eyebrows. “Won’t mind if you feel like testing the waters every so often, just to sort of check on things.”

Gibbs leaned in to nip at Tony’s lower lip, then let go and rolled off of him. “I think that can probably be arranged.”

“Good.”

Tony turned and stretched as he switched the light off again. Then he moved closer, resting his head on Jethro’s shoulder and putting one arm around his waist. “This okay?”

“Fine.”

They were both asleep again in a little while, and when they dreamed, it was about sleeping curled up together, but as man and fox.


	5. Holding Pattern

**Real**

Tony stretched and shifted over in bed, turning to reach for Gibbs. His eyes opened when his hand failed to make contact with anything other than cool sheets; there was a dim light coming from outside the bedroom. 

He sat up, rubbing at his eyes and glancing at the clock… 5:30 a.m. There was a faint noise from the kitchen; Tony sighed and tossed the covers back, getting out of bed and going to his closet for a robe. 

Gibbs was already showered and dressed when Tony caught up with him in front of the coffee maker. 

“Wow… you really don’t need to practice sneaking, you know.”

Gibbs looked over at him, shooting him a small, boyish grin before turning his attention back to the coffee. 

Tony walked over, and watched Gibbs deftly manipulate the settings to his preferences. He poked the other man in the shoulder. “You, Jethro, are a fraud.”

Gibbs settled back against the counter, raising an eyebrow and favoring Tony with an innocent look. 

Tony shook his head. “I’m serious. You act like technology is beyond you, but you can operate my fancy machine.”

“Survival skill.”

Tony smiled, then looked at Gibbs searchingly. “You feeling any better about all this?”

Gibbs sighed and looked down at the floor. Tony waited, forcing himself to hold still, until the other man looked back up. “Not sure what to tell you, Tony. Still don’t trust myself. Don’t like feeling so out of control.”

Tony nodded, then moved to the refrigerator. “Want something to eat?”

“What you got?”

“Eggs, cheese, bagels… want an egg sandwich? Could throw some bacon on that.”

“Sure.”

Tony threw breakfast together while Gibbs finished off his first cup of coffee and got started on his second. They ate quietly, sitting at the kitchen counter. Once they were done, Tony sat back and sipped at his own coffee while Gibbs got up and poured himself a third cup.

“So… basement tonight? Or you want to watch the second Lord of the Rings movie?”

Gibbs’ lips twitched into a smile. “Are those my only choices?”

Tony shook his head. “No. What do you want to do?”

Gibbs looked down into his coffee cup. “Maybe the basement. Or that movie.”

Tony shook his head, grinning. “Glad to see your sense of humor coming back.”

Gibbs looked up at him. “I have a sense of humor?”

“You know you do. Used to see it at work a lot more often, back before… well, before a lot of things.”

Gibbs nodded. “Yeah.”

Tony looked at him carefully. “Last night… that felt pretty real to me.”

Gibbs sighed quietly, drank some more coffee, then met Tony’s eyes. “I want it to be. Sometimes I think it is, then sometimes I wonder… I don’t trust myself right now, Tony.”

Tony nodded, then got up and brought the dirty dishes to the sink. “I get it, Jethro. I’m not gonna push. But I want you to know something.” He moved the few steps to bring himself closer to the older man, then leaned in and lightly brushed his lips over Gibbs’. “My feelings are real. But our friendship is more important… so if you decide you’re not ready, or you don’t trust them, I can put them aside.”

Gibbs pulled Tony into a hug, holding on tightly before pulling back, squeezing Tony’s shoulder, then downing the rest of his coffee. 

“I’ll see you at work.”

Tony nodded, watching Gibbs put on his coat, unbolt the door, and head out. Then he went back to the kitchen to finish cleaning up before getting ready to leave.

**Doubt**

It was late in the afternoon when Tony made his way down to Autopsy. 

“Ducky? You got a minute?”

Ducky was seated at his desk, signing off on some reports Jimmy Palmer was handing him from a file. He turned to face Tony and smiled. “Of course, my dear boy. Mister Palmer, why don’t you take a break?”

“Sure thing, Doctor.” Jimmy set the file down on Ducky’s desk, shot Tony a smile, then headed out the door. 

“What’s on your mind, Anthony?”

Tony pulled a chair over to Ducky’s desk. “It’s Gibbs,” he sighed as he sat down heavily, running his hand through his hair.

“Well, yes, I rather expected it was.”

Tony shot the other man a rueful look. “I suppose I’m getting predictable.”

Ducky reached out and patted the younger’s man’s knee. “It’s a strange situation we find ourselves in… I certainly have no precedent on which to base any course of action. I suppose we can only hope Abigail’s friend will provide some much needed insight.” Ducky sat back and folded his hands in his lap. “Is there any word on when he’ll be in town?”

Tony shook his head. “I’m going to check with Abby next.”

“So what is it?”

“We got called out on a case this morning… Marine Corporal was found at the Naval Academy, badly beaten. He’s in critical condition at Bethesda, in no shape to talk. Witness statements and other evidence narrowed everything down to two suspects… both of them are here, in interrogation.”

“What seems to be the trouble?”

Tony shifted uneasily in his chair. “Both these guys have motive, means, opportunity… but usually in a case like this, Gibbs can rely on his gut to know which guy to focus on and how to break him.”

“I take it the infamous gut isn’t working.”

“Nope. I’ve never seen him so uncertain.” Tony sat forward suddenly. “Ducky – he was clearly focused on the one guy, and then it was like someone had pulled the rug out from under him. He was so conflicted.”

Ducky placed his forearm on the desk and leaned forward. “Were Timothy and Ziva aware of his difficulty?” 

Tony shook his head. “No… they were settling the suspects in interrogation. I was talking to Gibbs upstairs, and he seemed so sure it was Private Davidson – and then he hesitated, looked through his notes… the expression on his face, Ducky… he was so lost.” He shifted again, unable to meet Ducky’s eyes. “He sent Ziva and McGee to do the interrogations.”

Ducky’s brow furrowed. “That is unusual… not so much that he is letting the others do the questioning, but his lack of faith in himself is certainly concerning.”

Tony nodded. “He’s never been like this.”

Ducky raised his hand in the air. “Ah, there, Anthony, you are incorrect. He has in fact gone through a period of self-doubt, and as I recall the situation was something like this one. He did not have access to all the facts, and there were outside forces at work – treacherous ones, as a matter of fact.”

Tony stared at him. “When was this?”

“Do you remember when you had an Agent Wilson temporarily assigned to the team?”

“Yeah… Dwayne. Good kid. Last I heard he’s Afloat.”

“Indeed. Director Vance wanted Jethro’s evaluation of the man. Rather than rely on his own observations, Jethro asked me to put together a profile.”

“Why would he do that?”

“Because we had recently lost Agent Langer, who at the time was assumed to be the mole Director Vance had been hunting. Jethro had brought Langer back in from the FBI –“

“-and therefore he thought his own judgment couldn’t be trusted. He didn’t know Langer had been played by Lee.”

“Exactly. As we all were.” Ducky raised his eyebrows. “How was Jethro last night?”

Tony sat back and crossed his arms over his chest. “He’s… conflicted, I guess. He’s not happy about having to be more open about his life. Still hasn’t been able to go in the basement.”

“And his behavior toward you?”

Tony looked away, clearing his throat and turning slightly red. Ducky smiled. “I take it there is some progress in the, shall we say, intimacy you share?”

“Uh, yeah, a little… but he doesn’t trust himself there either. What happened last night… it was, um, after a dream we shared – Gibbs got some idea of what I was worried about when we were up in New Hampshire. I think he was trying to make me feel better.”

Ducky nodded. “I see.” He gazed at Tony for a moment, then shook his head. “I take it what happened last night crossed some sort of line into a more physical type of reassurance?”

Tony nodded. “Wasn’t that big a deal… it stayed PG-13.”

Ducky shook his head. “Life is not a movie, Anthony. And do you honestly think Jethro would cross that line only to make you feel better? Even if his feelings didn’t extend that far?”

“No, I don’t. But he does.”

“Ah… he still doesn’t trust his own emotions.”

“Got it in one.”

“But he remains comfortable with you.”

“Uh huh… called me his anchor after we got back from up north, although he wasn’t sure what to think about that.”

“Jethro has always depended on you, my boy. Be patient with him. I think you’ll find that once he can be certain his actions are no longer controlled by an outside force, he will be much more willing to acknowledge his feelings for what they are and to act on them.”

“And in the meantime…”

“In the meantime, continue as you have been... on his six, as you like to say.”

Tony met Ducky’s eyes. “Always.”

**Enter the Shaman**

Tony walked into Abby’s lab; he could hear her voice coming from her inner office. “Hey, Abs!”

“Tony! Come here!”

She waved him over as he got closer, then motioned to the phone on her desk. “Greg, Tony’s here! Tony, this is Greg.”

_“Hi, Tony.”_

Tony widened his eyes at Abby, grinning. “Greg the Shaman! Nice to meet you!”

Greg chuckled. _“Just Greg is fine. Abby’s been catching me up on what you and your friend have been going through.”_

“You believe us?”

_“As a matter of fact, I do. I haven’t heard of anything like this in my lifetime, but there’s enough lore from tribal history to make this more than plausible.”_

“Really? That seems so… strange, I guess.”

_“After what you experienced?”_

“Good point.”

Abby cut in. “Greg thinks he can help.”

“Yeah?”

_“I think so. I’m still in Vermont, but I’m about ready to head south. I’ll go talk to a few of the elders, get their take on things. My great uncle is still around; he’s a shaman, and his memory is sharp as ever. He’ll be able to give me some advice.”_

Tony felt some of the tension in his shoulders release. “You’ve got perfect timing.”

_“Your friend is struggling with all this, huh?”_

“More than a bit. He’s not used to being so out of control of his life.”

_“Abby said he thinks the spirit is still influencing him?”_

“Yeah… he doesn’t trust himself – not professionally or personally.” Abby shot him a concerned look; Tony gave her what he hoped was a reassuring smile.

_“Well, tell him that’s highly unlikely – at least not in the way he’s thinking.”_

Abby’s eyes widened. “You mean, there could still be something going on?”

_“Thought you just told me there is. Tony, Abby said you and this Gibbs are sharing dreams?”_

“Yeah… had a couple just last night.”

_“That’s pretty cool.”_

“Sometimes.”

_“Sorry – yeah, I can see where it’s disconcerting. Look, let him know that the spirit can’t be influencing his feelings or his actions from so far away. They operate within a pretty narrow range.”_

“I’ll tell him. But, well, could the spirit have, I dunno, put something in his head that’s influencing him now?”

_“Sure. That’s why you guys are sharing dreams. Did it start after Gibbs became human again?”_

“Yeah.”

_“There you go. I have a few ideas about that, but I don’t want to jump the gun on this. Hey, any chance you guys could make the trip back up to the mountain?”_

“Seriously?”

_“Might help.”_

“I’ll mention it.”

_“It’s beautiful up there in winter.”_

“I’ll take your word for it.”

_“Hey, might not be needed. Depends on a few things.”_

“I think if it’ll clear things up, we can talk Gibbs into it.”

Abby grimaced. “Vance too.”

“Oh, goody.”

_“Abby, Tony, I’ve got to run… I should be there in a few days. Try to relax… your friend will be fine, if what I think is going on is actually going on.”_

Abby leaned toward the phone. “What if it’s not?”

_“Then it’s something else.”_

“Greg!”

He laughed again. _“Come on, Abby, I’m sure I’ve owed you that for years.”_

“Yeah, probably.”

_“Tony, nice talking to you. I’ll meet you in person soon.”_

“Thanks, Greg. Have a good trip back.”

_“Will do. Bye, Abby!”_

“See ya, Greg!” She punched the button to end the call, then jumped up and pulled Tony into a hug. “It’s all gonna be okay!”

Tony returned the hug enthusiastically. “He’s got great timing.”

She pulled back. “Yup. Always has. It’s like he’s got a sixth sense about stuff like this.”

“Shaman sense?”

“You’re going to try to come up with a whole bunch of shaman jokes, aren’t you?”

“Gonna have to do something to lighten the mood when Gibbs realizes he’s going to be surrounded by mysticism.”

“Yikes. You’re probably right.”

“So how do you know Greg, anyway?”

“We were in grad school together. Had apartments in the same building… we used to hang out all the time. He was studying philosophy and anthropology… we used to debate all sorts of ideas, try to figure out where science and shamanism could intersect. He was already deep into his shamanistic studies by then.”

“Sounds like a cool guy.”

“You’ll like him.” She leaned against her desk. “How’s Gibbs?”

He recapped what he’d told Ducky; she chewed her lip and looked worried. “He’s going to be okay, right?”

Tony nodded. “I think so. What Greg just told us should help.”

She jumped up and pushed him toward the door. “So go! Go tell him!”

“We’re in the middle of a case, Abby!”

“Find a moment. He needs to hear that!”

“Okay, I’m going, I’m gone!” He left the room, heading for the elevator.

**Change**

It was close to 9 p.m. when Tony arrived at Gibbs’ house. He let himself in; Gibbs was sitting at the table, finishing off some take-out. He held the carton out to Tony, who shook his head.

“Grabbed a burger at the diner before I came over.”

Gibbs grunted in acknowledgement, closing up the container and getting to his feet. Tony helped him clear stuff away, then put out a hand to tentatively touch him on the shoulder. “I talked with Abby’s shaman friend this afternoon.”

Gibbs turned to look at him. “Waited a while to tell me.”

“Well, we were kind of busy, rounding up Davidson’s friends and all. Did McGee get an update on Corporal Kensworth’s condition?”

Gibbs nodded. “They think he’ll pull through. Not sure his eyesight will come back a hundred percent; that’s going to take a while. Charges might get upgraded, depending.”

Tony grimaced. “Stupid move on Davidson’s part.”

“Yup.” Gibbs looked expectantly at Tony. “So? Abby’s friend?”

“Right… he should be here in a few days. Abby filled him in on the basics… he said to tell you the tree spirit can’t be influencing you from so far away.”

“So how does he explain the dreams?”

“Well, he didn’t, exactly, but he did say he thinks he knows what’s going on, and that it’s nothing to worry about.” 

Gibbs shot him a skeptical look, then his eyes became unfocused as he thought things over. Tony watched and waited. After a few minutes, Gibbs shook himself a bit. “I guess we might as well go with that for now.”

Tony nodded, but didn’t say anything. 

Gibbs sighed, then looked at him. “Come on.” He walked purposefully to the door leading to the basement. Tony followed.

Gibbs opened the door, flipped on the light, then took a few steps onto the landing. He looked down at the boat, scanning the basement. Tony stood quietly, unnaturally still.

Gibbs took a deep breath, glanced back at Tony, then muttered something that Tony thought might be ‘suck it up, Marine.’ He headed for the stairs, moving slowly at first; after the first couple of steps down, he moved at a more normal pace, until he paused at the bottom of the stairs before making a beeline for the bottle of bourbon sitting on the workbench. 

He filled about a third of a jar each for himself and Tony; Tony raised the jar in a silent salute, Gibbs followed suit, and they both downed the drinks. Gibbs set his jar down on the bench, then turned to look at the boat. He moved forward, running his hands over the wood, blowing some of the dust away. Tony watched, noting the tense set of Gibbs’ shoulders as he moved. 

Gibbs surveyed the entire boat, then looked over at Tony. “Okay to hang out for a while?”

“Of course.”

Gibbs nodded once, then headed over to the bench to grab some tools. Tony watched closely, feeling the knot in his gut slowly dissipate as Gibbs’ shoulders relaxed. He sat down on one of the old chairs and poured them each another shot of bourbon.

“So, want a recap of my conversation with Greg the Shaman?”

Gibbs looked over at him and smiled. “Sure.”

Tony launched into a detailed monologue, enjoying the feeling of rightness being back in the basement gave both of them.


	6. Some Answers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Here we begin a trip through a mix of my imagination, mythology, and Abenaki history and culture, those last three researched from a variety of sources. I’m no cultural or historical scholar – science is my thing. I’m basing this story off interpretations of the mythology I’ve read, what little I’ve found on Abenaki shamanistic practices (almost nothing), and tried to bring it all in line with where this story is going. I’ll provide a list of my sources at the end of this chapter – those sources will also apply for the rest of the story; I’ll add any others I end up using. If anyone wants to know if anything I mention in this story is my imagination, mythology, or fact, please feel free to PM me. Anything directly referred to as legend or myth or history, as well as anything referenced as Abenaki language, is taken from one of the sources listed below. Anything relating to tree spirits, Gibbs’ experience as a fox, or Greg’s interpretation of what it all means is strictly out of my imagination and has nothing whatsoever to do with anything I’ve researched._
> 
> _Lastly, I mean absolutely no disrespect to the Abenaki people, their culture, or their traditional beliefs. I wanted to ground my story in some aspect of reality, and in the process I’ve learned a bit about a truly fascinating piece of North American history and culture._
> 
> _This chapter contains some references to events in the first story in this series, Silver Fox._

**Anticipation**

Tony glanced at the lower right hand corner of his monitor yet again – the time had only advanced by two minutes. He sighed heavily, earning a Gibbsian raised eyebrow from across the way as well as an eye roll from McGee and an irritated look from Ziva.

“What has you on pins and needles, Tony?”

Tony gaped at her. “You would get it right if it involves sharp objects.”

She suppressed a smile. “Seriously, Tony. You are jumpy. Why?”

“It’s Friday. I’m looking forward to sleeping in and watching football.”

McGee snorted. “We’re on call this weekend, Tony. What are the chances you’ll catch any of the games?”

Gibbs shook his head. “Director rearranged the schedule. We’re off this weekend.”

Ziva sat up and stared at him. “Since when?”

“Since I got the email from him about thirty minutes ago.”

Ziva glanced at her own monitor. “Gibbs… may I make a personal call? I could rearrange my weekend plans.”

Gibbs sat back in his chair and looked at her thoughtfully. “You and McGee… take off. We’ve all earned some downtime.”

The junior agents hurriedly shut down their computers and gathered their things. McGee hesitated as he walked by Gibbs’ desk. “Um, what about Tony?”

Gibbs looked over at his senior field agent, who was once more focused on his computer. “I’m good, Tim. Have to finish up these evals and requisitions – but then it’ll be party time!”

McGee looked at him skeptically.

“What?”

“You called me Tim. In this situation, that usually means you’re doing something you don’t want me to know about.”

Tony sighed and sat back in his chair. “Boss, our little probie is growing up.”

Gibbs shook his head. “It’s your fault, DiNozzo.”

“True.”

McGee ignored that. “Everything okay?”

Tony gave him a genuine smile. “Everything’s good. Really.” He widened his eyes and shot an exaggerated glance at Gibbs, who was making notes on a pad. 

McGee glanced at him, then back at Tony, and moved closer to Tony’s desk. “Is Gibbs doing any better?” he asked quietly.

Tony nodded. “Getting there.” He waved his hand toward the elevator where Ziva was waiting. “Now go, shoo. Have a good weekend.” 

McGee looked like he was going to say something else, then nodded. “Bye, Tony, Boss.”

Tony waited until the younger man reached Ziva before calling out, “Don’t get lost in the internet, Elf Lord!”

He smiled to himself as they disappeared into the elevator, then glanced over at Gibbs. “We really get the weekend off, Boss?”

Gibbs nodded. “One of the other team leads wanted to switch with us, free up a weekend for some family thing. Vance approved it.”

“Cool. Good timing, huh?”

Gibbs shrugged and focused on his work, leaving Tony to sit back and consider him carefully.

They’d gone into a comfortable holding pattern over the past several days. After the Davidson case, they’d caught a homicide that had taken them the past weekend and two more days after that to solve… then it was a few days of paperwork, tying up loose ends, and catching up on the other things that had been pushed aside. Whatever time they’d had off had been split between Gibbs’ house and Tony’s apartment. 

Gibbs was getting more comfortable in the basement, but if Tony went upstairs for any reason, Gibbs found some excuse to leave it soon after. Neither of them ever discussed it. They were still sharing dreams, but in general those dreams were calmer than they had been, and sometimes Gibbs stayed human in them. They shared a bed, but there’d been no further physical intimacy since that first time in Tony’s apartment. Gibbs was clearly still conflicted about it, and Tony didn’t push. 

Gibbs reached up and scratched the side of his face. “When’s Abby’s friend getting here?”

“Um, change in plans, actually. He wants to see the basement, so Abby figured we might as well meet up at the house. She’s bringing him over around six.” 

Gibbs seemed to consider that for a moment. Tony suppressed the urge to start babbling, and glanced down at the monitor again. “It’s getting close to five, Boss. Maybe we should head out, pick up some food or something?”

Gibbs sighed and reached up again to rub at the back of his head. “Might as well, huh?”

Tony got up and walked over to Gibbs’ desk. “Could help to have a little time to relax before he gets there.” He paused, then continued. “Having some answers has to help, right?”

Gibbs glanced up at him; Tony could see he wasn’t particularly convinced. 

“Remember what he told us last week… the spirit can’t affect you from so far away.”

Gibbs sighed, then abruptly pushed back from his desk and stood. “Let’s go.”

They shut down and packed up quickly, then walked together to the elevator.

**A Beginning**

They’d eaten half a pizza by the time they heard Abby’s knock on the door, followed by the sound of it opening and Abby clomping into the house, accompanied by her nonstop chatter. 

“… now Tony says the house is stoic, but I think it’s got this understated charm, you know? Kind of reflects Gibbs’ personality, or at least what I see. Not everyone gets to see that, since he’s a pretty private person.”

Gibbs’ eyes met Tony’s; he heaved a resigned sigh as both men got to their feet and walked from the kitchen to the foyer. 

Abby smiled widely as they appeared, hugging a folder to her chest. “Gibbs! Tony! This is Greg Monlatak – well, actually, it’s Dr. Monlatak, since he has his PhD and all.”

Greg stepped forward, hand outstretched. “Greg, please.” 

Tony gave the man a quick appraisal as he introduced himself. Greg was Gibbs’ height, in good shape, wearing a brown suede bomber jacket over a dress shirt and tie, with dark blue jeans and dress shoes. He had thick, straight dark hair that flopped over his brown eyes and a pleasant, slightly angular face. 

Gibbs nodded to Greg as he shook his hand. Greg’s eyes widened. “Wow… you’ve clearly been spirit-touched.”

Abby stared at him. “How can you tell?”

Greg looked over at her. “It’s a shaman thing.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Are you going to pull the shaman card every time I ask for an explanation?”

“Depends on what you ask. I have no idea how to describe what I’m feeling.” He looked over at Tony. “You’ve got it too – not as strong, but it’s there.”

Gibbs shot Tony a concerned look. Tony returned it, then laughed a bit. “Guess that’s not too surprising, given the shared dreams thing.”

Gibbs moved to take Abby’s coat. Greg took his jacket off and followed Gibbs to hang it on the rack by the door while Abby and Tony made for the living room. Gibbs and Greg followed suit; Abby and Gibbs sat together on the couch while Greg and Tony each took an armchair.

“So,” Greg began, “where would you like me to start?”

Gibbs stayed silent, so Tony sat forward. “You said on the phone there’s some lore to fall back on?”

Greg nodded. “After our conversation, I took a side-trip to talk to my great-uncle. He gave me a lot of my shamanistic training, and while he doesn’t have any personal experience with this sort of spirit, he had friends who did. They’ve passed on, unfortunately, but they shared the lore with him, and he’s now passed it on to me.”

Abby shifted on the couch, reaching out to take Gibbs’ hand. “So you’ve heard of other people who’ve experienced something like this?”

Greg nodded. “A few, yes. Interestingly, they all took place in New Hampshire, in the Wawobadenik… what you call the White Mountains.”

Tony cocked his head. “What does that translate to?”

Greg grinned at him. “White mountains.”

Abby rolled her eyes and smacked him on the arm. “He does that all the time.”

“It’s fun.” Greg shrugged. “Specifically on Godagwajo… Mount Washington.” 

Tony’s eyes narrowed. “That doesn’t translate to Washington, does it?”

“Nope. Hidden Mountain would be more accurate.”

Abby spoke up again. “Is it weird that this all seems to happen there?”

“Can’t really say. I’m western Abenaki; my family is based in Vermont, but the people extend into interior New Hampshire. The eastern Abenaki are in Maine. I don’t think it’s the people so much as the location. Godagwajo is a special place. Crazy weather, lots of people die there, especially in winter.”

“Does the weather have anything to do with the spirits? And are there other spirits too, not just tree spirits?”

Greg sat back and crossed his legs. “According to one of our creation legends, Dabaldak was the first, the lord of creation. He made the world and drew from his own spirit to make spirits for everything living. The word ‘monster’ comes into play sometimes… other legends tell of the Abenaki hero Koluscap – that’s one of his names, anyway – who defeated the frost monsters and tamed winter. Whether those monsters qualified as spirits or something else entirely… I couldn’t say.”

Abby started to ask another question, but Greg lifted his hand to her lips. “Abby, I will happily go into a lot more detail with you later… but I think your friends probably have more pressing questions.”

“Of course!” Abby shot an apologetic look at Gibbs and Tony. 

Greg sat forward. “Mister Gibbs –“

Gibbs shook his head. “Jethro.”

Greg nodded. “Jethro, would you mind telling me what happened when you turned into the fox?”

Gibbs took a deep breath, then launched into the story. Tony watched him carefully, noting the tension in his shoulders. Abby held his hand tightly, and Tony found himself wishing he was in her place. They hadn’t talked about that night in detail since their trip to New Hampshire. 

Greg listened carefully without interrupting, then asked a few questions. He had Tony talk about what happened when he discovered the fox in the basement. After that, Abby handed him the folder she’d brought, which included pictures of the fox as well as her notes from her research into tree spirits and where the original spruce tree had come from.

Greg gazed at the pictures of Gibbs as a fox. “You make a beautiful fox, Jethro.”

Gibbs sighed and shook his head. Tony grinned. “Angela sure thought so.”

Gibbs’ eyes widened and he turned to glare half-heartedly at Tony. “Don’t remind me.”

“What’s this?” Abby asked.

“Tell you later,” Tony replied. 

Greg had a piece of paper in his hand and was reading it carefully. “Abby… is this the ritual you found?”

She let go of Gibbs’ hand and scooted over on the couch to take a look. “Yup.”

He looked at all of them. “This shouldn’t have worked… but obviously it did.”

Abby looked stricken. “What? Why not?”

“It’s pieced together from a few different sources… not really meant for the purpose. But I guess the spirit read your intent, and didn’t worry too much about the formulas.”

Tony thought about that. “Can these spirits, I dunno, tell what kind of person you are? Good, bad, that sort of thing?”

Greg hesitated, then nodded slowly. “I wouldn’t be surprised. Why do you ask?”

“I remember, the night before Gibbs turned human again, after we planted the seedling and did the ritual… I was having all these dreams about Gibbs, me, us working together… I remember waking up the next morning and thinking it was like someone was reviewing our case files, but things were all jumbled together.”

“It’s possible.” Greg tapped his finger on the papers in his lap. “Maybe probable. The spirit could have been deciding what to do, and learning about you would have helped.”

Gibbs cleared his throat. “Why a fox?”

Greg smiled. “That’s an excellent question. It could have something to do with you – who you are, that sort of thing. It could be more about the spirit’s intent. Turning you into prey, like a rabbit, would have been more of a punishment, and also would have made it less likely that you’d accomplish the spirit’s objective.”

“Why’s that?” Tony asked.

“Bigger chance he’d have been eaten.” Greg shrugged. “One of the stories my great-uncle shared was of a man who did get turned into a rabbit… he’d diverted a stream away from sacred ground to water his crops. Most of the stories have people turning into bears, predatory birds, coyotes, that sort of thing. Historically, there was a period of time known as the years of the fox, spanning a good part of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. That was a time of integration of some of the Abenaki with people of European descent; some of the Abenaki chose what they called the path of the fox, and retreated into the mountains, staying isolated until around the seventies.” He shook his head. “There’s a theme here, in a way… things that are hidden.” He looked around the room. “I have no idea what that means… yet.”

Tony shifted in his chair. “So, what’s next?”

“Can I see the basement?”

Gibbs led the way downstairs, with Abby close behind. She hadn’t stopped holding his hand. 

The shaman closed his eyes and stood with his hands raised slightly, breathing deeply. They all watched him silently, waiting, until Tony suddenly laughed quietly. 

Greg’s eyes opened and he looked at Tony curiously. “Sorry… it’s just, you’re a shaman, you’re doing this mystical thing, and you’re just not dressed for it.”

Gibbs reached out and gave Tony a light head slap. Greg looked slightly startled by that, but didn’t comment. He smiled at Tony. “That’s okay, I get it. You’re not the first person to tell me I don’t look the part. Most of them are my freshman students, though.”

Abby giggled at that, and Gibbs shot Tony a small smile. Tony sighed heavily. 

“Can you tell that the spirit was here?” Abby asked.

Greg nodded. “The traces are faint, but they’re there. Nothing malevolent… there’s a sense of sadness, displacement – homesickness? But this isn’t an evil spirit, not by any stretch.” He wandered around the basement, stopping here and there to touch the boat or other objects. 

“There isn’t another spirit down here, is there?” Tony asked. Gibbs tensed next to him.

Greg shook his head. “No, just the traces that one was here. You’ve got nothing to worry about on that score.” He walked closer to them, leaned against the workbench. “Here’s what I can tell you so far. You were turned into a fox because it was what the spirit could do to get you to bring it home. The spirit had no evil intentions toward you, and I’m sure it meant to turn you back all along. That could be why the ritual Abby put together worked – the spirit didn’t need persuading.”

“And it can’t do anything else to him now, right?” Abby squeezed Gibbs’ hand as she asked the question.

Greg shook his head. “No way. Their power is defined in part by where they live… it limits them. Jethro had to be physically near it to be changed. There’s absolutely no way it can reach you here from the mountain.”

Gibbs relaxed a bit; Tony reached up to lay a hand on his shoulder.

“So why the dreams?” Tony asked. “And what’s up with us sharing them?”

Greg shook his head. “I’m not sure. There are a few possibilities. You said that didn’t start until after Jethro was human again?”

Both men nodded.

“Tell you what… let me go home, talk to a few people. Now that I’ve met you and have more information, there’s a few more questions I know to ask. I could come back tomorrow?”

Gibbs nodded. “Sure. Be nice to get this figured out.”

Greg smiled at him. “I’m sure. If it makes you feel any better, these dreams may have been meant as a good thing.”

They all went back upstairs, and Greg and Abby took their leave, promising to return by mid-morning. 

**Debrief**

Tony leaned against the wall as Gibbs closed the door. “So… what do you think?”

Gibbs shoved his hands in his pockets and looked at Tony. “Seems like a good guy.”

“That’s not exactly what I meant.”

“I know.” 

Gibbs headed for the kitchen, opening the refrigerator and grabbing two beers. He handed one to Tony and they moved to the table where the rest of the pizza still sat. Tony boxed it up and put it in the fridge, then joined Gibbs at the table. They clinked the bottles together, drank, then stared at each other.

“You feel a little better, knowing your judgment’s your own?”

Gibbs nodded slowly. “Still want to understand the dreams. If there’s something in my head that it put there. But… yeah, I feel better.”

“Good.” Tony took another drink, then looked at Gibbs carefully.

Gibbs returned the gaze. “What?”

“Well… what would you say to going back up the mountain? Greg suggested over the phone that it might help.”

Gibbs stared at him, then sat back and started at the wall. Tony watched him controlling his expression; his heart sank a little as he recognized a hint of fear.

“It might not be necessary,” he added. 

Gibbs sighed. “If it will help… gonna be a pain in the neck to get Vance to sign off.”

“And McGee and Ziva will go ballistic if they’re left out again.”

“They’d have to deal. They’re not coming.”

Tony shook his head. “Of course not. And like I said… maybe we won’t need to do it.”

They finished the beer in silence. Tony watched Gibbs for a moment, then had an idea. “Think we could both use a distraction. How about heading back to my place… we could watch that second Lord of the Rings movie. This one’s got some awesome battles scenes in it.”

Gibbs tilted his head to one side. “Sounds like a plan.”

While Gibbs went to get his go-bag from his car, Tony sent Abby a quick text telling her where they were going and that they’d be back by ten the next morning.

It wasn’t long before they were sitting comfortably on Tony’s couch, watching the movie. Tony ended up watching Gibbs much of the time; they’d clearly made the right move, since Gibbs was far more relaxed and clearly enjoying himself. There were often small, subtle touches between them, but for the most part they simply relaxed together.

Once the movie was over, they headed for the bedroom, sharing the bed like they’d done almost every night in the past two weeks. It didn’t take long for them both to fall asleep.

They dreamed again… this time they were hiking in the mountains, both human, setting up camp at a familiar site. Once again they both turned into foxes, one silver and one red, and set out exploring, away from the trails. They sat together on a large rock outcropping to watch the sunset, then looked up the mountain to see the tree they’d planted, its branches waving in the breeze almost as if it were welcoming them back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Sources consulted for this story:_
> 
> _Abenaki Indian Legends, Grammar, and Place-Names, by Henry Lorne Masta, original copyright 1932. Reprinted by Global Language Press, Toronto, 2008._
> 
> _Encyclopedia of World Cultures: Abenaki, entry by Dean Snow, 1996, located at encyclopedia dot com_
> 
> _Seven Eyes Seven Legs: Supernatural Stories of the Abenaki, by Gerard and Yolaikia Tsonakwa, Kiva Publishing, 2001._
> 
> _The Voice of the Dawn: An Autohistory of the Abenaki Nation, by Frederick Matthew Wiseman, University Press of New England, 2001._


	7. Some Answers, More Questions

**Progress**

Jethro Gibbs was sitting up in bed, his back against the headboard, watching Tony sleep in the early morning light. His friend was far more relaxed and peaceful than he ever appeared when awake. 

Gibbs reached out to lightly run his fingers through Tony’s hair. The other man shifted in his sleep, and Gibbs drew back his hand, not wanting to wake him just yet. He wanted to think.

He knew he wasn’t himself, hadn’t been since this all started. It was disconcerting, realizing exactly how much this had affected him, how off-balance he felt. Seeing his friends rally around him, though, that had been both humbling and eye-opening. 

There was no question in his mind that he’d been shutting people out since he’d lost Shannon. He’d known it, had chosen not to do anything about it, despite the pleas of his ex-wives. His reasons were many; some he understood better than others. The one foremost in his mind right now was the fact that he’d relied on two people in his life, two of the people closest to him, and he’d lost them both. First his mother, then Shannon. After that, he hadn’t wanted to be so emotionally open to anyone else. It didn’t seem worth the pain. 

Slowly but surely, some of his friends made it past his walls and reluctance. Ducky, Abby, Tony… he could be more real with them than with anyone else. He wasn’t surprised to see them stand by him through this strange, new part of his life. It meant a lot to him, especially what Tony had been willing to do, was still doing. He knew how often Tony was running interference, stepping in when his own confidence faltered. Just as he knew that Tony would keep it up, as long as it was needed.

If there was anyone in his life he knew he could count on to stick with him, no matter what, it was Tony. He knew Abby would do anything for him, that Ducky would always be there when he asked, that McGee was loyal beyond reproach, and that Ziva was rebuilding her own life to the point that her loyalty was no longer really in question. But it was Tony who could anticipate his needs better than anyone else, Tony who seemed to know him like Shannon had, Tony who…

Tony whom he could love like he’d loved her. 

If he were honest with himself, he’d known that on some level for a while now, before this spirit had played around with his life and his sense of self. Maybe it was time to let that possibility take center stage. Greg had put many of his concerns to rest; he didn’t really still think the spirit was somehow controlling his emotions. He was worried about what the shared dreams meant, concerned that the spirit had done something, planted something in his head that could put Tony in danger through this link they shared. There was that thing Greg had said, about the spirit…

“Hey.”

Gibbs blinked and looked at Tony, who was lying on his back and looked up at him. “Hey yourself.”

Tony stretched a bit, grimacing a little and reaching up to rub his neck. “Think I slept funny.”

Gibbs scooted back down, propping his head on one hand and reaching out with the other to push Tony’s hand out of the way and gently massage his neck.

“Oh… nice, Jethro.”

Gibbs kept at it a little longer, then rested his hand on Tony’s shoulder. “Better?”

“Yeah.” Tony lay there, his face turned toward Gibbs, smiling. 

Gibbs stared at him, then moved his hand to cup Tony’s face, leaning in for a kiss.

Tony responded easily, humming into Gibbs’ mouth. When Gibbs pulled back, Tony grinned at him. “You’re a brave man, dealing with my morning breath.”

Gibbs returned the smile. “I’m a Marine. I’m ready for anything.” He pushed himself up, settling himself over Tony, one arm on either side, then lowered himself to rest on his forearms. His hands framed Tony’s face. “Good morning.” 

“It certainly is now.”

Gibbs resumed the kiss, anchoring his fingers in Tony’s hair. Tony’s arms went around him, one hand sliding over the back of his head while the other traced the muscles of his upper back. 

Gibbs lost track of time. He let himself simply feel, and put up no resistance when Tony gently switched their positions, Gibbs ending up on his back while Tony lay over him, taking over for a while, kissing him deeply. Tony eventually pulled back, moving to kiss and nibble on Gibbs’ neck. Gibbs closed his eyes and stretched his head back, giving Tony easier access, giving himself up to the pleasure. 

Some time later, Tony raised his head from his exploration of Gibbs’ mouth. Gibbs opened his eyes, meeting Tony’s and smiling at the happiness he saw there. 

“Wow,” Tony said quietly, his fingertips stroking Gibbs’ face. 

“Yeah.”

Tony moved back a bit, his head cocked to one side. “Something’s changed.”

“Ya think?”

Tony shot him a mock glare. “Seriously, Jethro… last night helped, didn’t it?”

Gibbs nodded. “Yeah.”

“You ever think life would be better through mysticism?”

Gibbs snorted and moved to sit up as Tony shifted over to give him room. “What do you think?”

“I’m guessing not.”

“Got it in one.” Gibbs took a deep breath and reached out to grip Tony’s hand. “Been thinking.”

Tony squeezed Gibbs’ hand. “I’m thinking your thinking is a good thing.”

Gibbs nodded. “Not worried that my emotions aren’t my own, not anymore.” The answering sparkle in Tony’s eyes made Gibbs smile even as he wanted to kick himself for holding his friend at arm’s length for so long. “And I trust yours.”

Tony smiled, narrowing his eyes a bit. “But,” he prompted.

Gibbs shook his head. “You know me too well.” He moved his hand, lacing their fingers together. “But I’m still not sure what these dreams mean. What’s causing them, if there’s some sort of trigger…”

Tony nodded. “I get that. You wanna put this on hold until we get answers?”

Gibbs started into his eyes, then tugged gently on his hand until Tony leaned forward. He give him a long, lingering kiss. “No, not entirely. Still want to take it slow.” He let go of Tony’s hand lay back against the headboard. “Greg said the spirit affected you too. Don’t want to put you at risk.”

“You’re not going to push me away for my own good, are you?”

“No.” The word came out more forcefully than he’d intended. 

Tony’s eyes searched his, then he nodded. “Thank you.”

Gibbs inclined his head, then looked around the room. “What time is it?”

“Plenty of time to shower and hit the diner for breakfast before meeting Abby and Greg back at the house.”

Gibbs waved his hand toward the bathroom. “Go on. I’ll do some more thinking.”

Tony grinned widely. “I’m all for that.” He scrambled out of bed and headed for the bathroom while Gibbs let his head fall back against the board and considered what to do next. 

**Concerns**

They were hanging out in the basement when Abby and Greg arrived. 

“Gibbs!”

“Down here, Abs.”

Abby led the way, with Greg following close behind. She flung herself at Gibbs, enveloping him in a hug, then launched herself at Tony to give him the same treatment. Greg approached Gibbs, who raised an eyebrow. Greg grinned. “Abby and I have lots in common, but not that.” He reached out to shake Gibbs’ hand. He approached Tony and greeted him in similar fashion as soon as Abby let go. 

Tony smiled at Greg, who looked much the same minus the tie. Greg returned the smile and said something that Tony didn’t quite catch; he was too busy cataloguing the subtle physical tells that told him Greg was much more tense than he’d been the night before.

Abby turned to Gibbs, then glanced between him and Tony. “Something’s different.”

“I was going to say the same thing,” Tony replied, looking at Greg as he spoke. 

Greg shot him a wry smile. “You’re awfully observant.

Tony grinned. “That’s why they pay me the big bucks.”

Gibbs glanced at Tony, but Abby grabbed his attention before he could follow up. “You seem a lot more relaxed,” she said, looking at him hopefully.

Gibbs nodded. “Last night helped.”

Abby pumped her fist in the air. “Yes!” She pulled Gibbs into another hug. “I am so proud of you for being so open minded!”

“Not like I had much choice, Abby… I couldn’t really pretend I wasn’t a fox.”

“Still. You’re the best.” She turned to Greg, beaming at him. 

He nodded to Gibbs. “I’m glad I could help.”

“There’s more, isn’t there?” Tony interjected.

Greg nodded. “Ah… perhaps we might want to go upstairs and sit down?”

Tony’s eyes met Gibbs’. He saw a flash of doubt in the blue eyes, but Gibbs covered quickly, waving Abby and Greg forward, reaching out to squeeze Tony’s hand as he followed them. 

Tony brought up the rear as they all walked into the living room. They took the same seats they’d had the night before, except now Abby sat at the end of the couch nearest Greg’s chair.

“So,” Tony asked, “what have you come up with?”

Greg cleared his throat and sat forward. “I called my great-uncle last night… some of what you told me didn’t quite fit what I’d expected, and I wanted his take on things.”

He fell silent; Abby reached out to pat his arm while Tony and Gibbs exchanged a quick glance. 

Greg shook himself a bit, then frowned. “Sorry… this is new, and I’m trying to figure out how to explain it.”

Tony sat forward. “What do you mean, new?”

“My uncle doesn’t think we’re dealing with the sort of spirit we originally thought. It all seemed to fit, from what Abby had told me, but what you guys said about the dreams, and especially you, Tony, about the spirit sifting through your memories… well, I thought that was strange at the time, but I didn’t realize how strange until I talked with him again.”

Gibbs didn’t say anything, but Tony noticed how he tensed up.

“That’s not something the spirit would do?”

Greg shook his head. “There’s nothing like that in any of the lore. Being turned into a fox, sure, wanting to get back home… but the rest is, well, strange.”

“So what does that mean?”

“I’m not sure. These spirits… they aren’t spirits of the trees, not exactly, otherwise the spirit would be gone when the tree was cut down. That’s not the issue, though. There are several things… the shared dreams… it’s unusual for anyone who’s not a shaman to experience dreams like that, let alone share them. The way the tree grew from a seedling overnight – the spirit shouldn’t have been able to do that.”

“If it’s not a tree spirit, what is it?”

Greg shook his head. “I’m not sure. It’s something new, and we haven’t seen anything new like this in generations. My uncle… he thinks maybe it’s something that’s been hidden since Koluscap defeated the monsters.”

“So Gibbs was turned into a fox by a monster? How’s that different from a spirit? And does that mean…” Tony let his voice trail off. He didn’t really want to bring Gibbs’ doubts back. Gibbs turned to look at him, then reached out and took Tony’s hand.

Greg stared at their hands for a moment, then glanced at Abby, who’d also noticed and was smiling widely at them. “This could change things.”

Abby turned to look at him. “What are you talking about?”

Greg gestured toward their joined hands. “I didn’t realize… the connection you guys share might play into this in a way I wasn’t taking into account.”

Tony frowned. “This is… new. It didn’t start up until after Gibbs was back to being human.”

Greg’s brow furrowed. “I honestly don’t know if that makes a difference. Abby told me you’ve been close for a long time?”

Gibbs nodded. “Not like this. Tony’s right – we’re just starting out.”

Tony gripped Gibbs’ hand tighter. “I’m still sort of stuck on the monster… are you saying that it could have read our emotions, seen something in our relationship that we hadn’t worked out yet?”

Greg shrugged. “I have no idea. The monsters were supposed to be gone. But honestly, I don’t know if it’s that or something else, a type of spirit we haven’t encountered before.”

Gibbs sat back. “So we’re back to square one?”

Greg shook his head. “No, not exactly.”

Abby bit her lip. “What if we look at it from another angle? What about the dreams? Is it weird that Gibbs is a fox in the dreams sometimes?”

Greg sighed. “A shaman is believed to have an animal form, one we can transform into. I’ve never seen it happen, but there are old stories that describe it. It’s certainly never happened to me.” His expression turned a bit wistful. “My great-uncle has had many dreams in which he was a bear… never anything else. And I’ve dreamt of being a hawk.” He looked up at both men. “Those dreams are always incredibly vivid. But how all this relates to the two of you… I haven’t a clue.”

Gibbs let out a frustrated sigh. Tony glanced at him, then back at Greg. “So what’s next?”

Greg sat up straighter. “I need to investigate this. Like I said, it’s new… my uncle thinks it’s something I need to do, to find out how this might affect the people.” He met Gibbs’ eyes. “I know this is probably not what you really want to do, but I think it’s important for you to come with me.” He looked at Tony. “Both of you.”

The room fell uncomfortably silent. 

“Look,” Greg said, “I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t think it could really help. Not just my people, but you personally. I’m thinking that through you I might be able to communicate with it, get you the answers you need… what the dreams really mean, what consequences all this might have for your relationship.”

Gibbs shot the shaman a skeptical look. “Why do I feel like that’s just a bit convenient?”

Greg’s eyes widened; Abby beat him to the protest. “Gibbs, I’ve known Greg for a long time – he wouldn’t suggest this if he didn’t honestly think it would help you.”

Gibbs sat back and rested his head on the back of the couch. “Gonna be rough conditions up there.”

Greg nodded. “I’m an experienced winter hiker.”

Gibbs abruptly rose to his feet, dropping Tony’s hand. “Gonna go think.” He strode out of the room, heading for the basement. 

Abby watched him go, then turned to look at Tony. “Go with him, Abby.” She nodded and took off after him.

Tony sat back and looked at Greg, who returned his gaze. “You still think the spirit, monster, whatever can’t affect him from there?”

Greg nodded. “There’s nothing in any of the stories and legends that suggest it would have such power. I can’t guarantee it, but my uncle agrees with me.”

“What are the possibilities with these dreams?”

Greg’s hands waved aimlessly. “I don’t know. I don’t know if the spirit simply linked the two of you together in a way that allows you to share them. I don’t know if it means something more, like a shaman’s dream… for all I know somehow there’s a key to actual transformation somewhere in there.”

Tony’s eyes widened. “You mean Gibbs could voluntarily become the fox again?”

“Maybe? I don’t know.”

Tony cleared his throat. “We haven’t gotten into the dreams in a whole lot of detail… but maybe you should know what sometimes I’m a fox too.”

Greg moved his hand up to his face, running his fingers along his jaw. “Wow… do you transform in the dreams?”

Tony nodded. “We’re always up on the mountain when that happens. We hike, we both choose to be foxes and run together.”

Greg’s face lit up. “That might mean you could become a fox too, even if the spirit never turned you into one.” 

“That’s just… weird. And I have no idea if it makes things any better.”

Greg sat forward. “I know, and I’m sorry. I wish I had more answers. Um… do you think he’ll be willing to go?”

Tony shrugged. “I don’t know. It wouldn’t be easy for him. He wasn’t comfortable up there, not after he went back to being human.” He gave Greg a long, searching look. “If we do go back there, and something happens to him…” 

Greg stared back. “Understood.” He tilted his head a bit. “You’ll go too, if he does?”

Tony gave him a small smile. “Where he goes, I go.” His eyes narrowed. “Just tell me one thing… you really believe this will help resolve what’s going on? This isn’t just so you can discover the secret of flight, is it?”

Greg shook his head. “I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t think it would help. I could get directions to the tree from you, go on my own… and I would, if I believed whatever we’re dealing with wanted to harm either of you in any way.”

Tony nodded. “All right. If Gibbs wants to go, I won’t object.”

They sat there, making small talk, until Gibbs and Abby reappeared. Abby had her arm around Gibbs’ waist and, his arm was around her shoulders. Gibbs looked at Tony, who returned his gaze. Gibbs nodded, then looked at Greg. “We’ll go, as long as we can talk our boss into it.”

Greg exhaled loudly. “Thanks for believing Abby when she tells you I’m one of the good guys.”

Gibbs’ lips twitched. “She did have to do some convincing.”

Abby leaned her head on Gibbs’ shoulder. “I just want you to be able to move on from all this. I want you and Tony happy, and everything back to the way it’s supposed to be.”

“I know, Abs.” Gibbs turned his head to drop a kiss on her hair. He looked over at Tony again, their eyes meeting for a long moment before he repeated, “I know.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Everything Greg suggests in this chapter is out of my imagination, except for the belief that a shaman can transform into an animal. That idea is in several of the sources listed at the end of chapter 6._


	8. Getting Ready

**Planning**

Gibbs shifted away from Abby and pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. The others simply watched. He met Tony’s eyes while he waited for someone to pick up.

_“Hello?”_

“Leon.”

_“Gibbs? What’s going on?”_

“Have a favor to ask. Need some time off, for both me and DiNozzo. Gotta head back up north.”

There was a long pause.

_“This have to do with what happened a few weeks ago? I thought that was all resolved.”_

“Only sort of.”

Another pause, then a sigh. _“You better come in to work. I’m already here.”_

“On our way.”

Gibbs flipped the phone shut. “Director wants to see us in his office.”

Tony nodded. “Makes sense.”

Abby bounced on her toes. “Should we come with you?”

Gibbs gazed thoughtfully at Greg. “We’ll hold you in reserve. Might be better to put this in a more…” His hands waved aimlessly.

Greg smiled. “I get it.”

Tony grabbed his own phone and hit a few keys, bringing it to his ear. “Hey, Ducky, it’s Tony. Are you super busy right now?”

Gibbs’ eyebrows shot up. Tony met his eyes and shrugged, while Abby nodded enthusiastically. “That’s brilliant!”

“Would you mind coming to the Yard with me and Gibbs? We need to talk to Vance about getting time off to head back up north… yeah, Abby’s friend thinks he can help.”

They all watched while Tony nodded. “We can pick you up, take you back home after – okay, great. See you soon.”

He ended the call and stood up. “Ducky’s on board.” Looking at Gibbs, he continued, “He can use the PTSD diagnosis as a reason Vance can accept, without having to figure out how to fudge the paperwork so it doesn’t say ‘commune with tree spirits who may be monsters.’”

Gibbs’ lips twitched. “Good thinking.”

Tony smiled. “Thanks, Boss.”

“Jethro.”

“Thanks, Jethro.”

Abby clasped her hands in front of her chest. “Aww! You guys are so cute!” She turned to look at Greg. “Aren’t they cute?”

Greg glanced between them and her. “There’s no way for me to answer that without getting into trouble with someone, so I’m withholding judgment.”

“Good move,” Tony approved. “Seeing as how you’re going hiking up a mountain with us.”

“Speaking of that…” Greg stood up. “We’re going to need the right gear for the weather. You guys busy tomorrow? We should hit some of the stores… EMS, REI. They’re both in Arlington.”

Abby turned to him. “I can help you make a list.”

Gibbs and Tony were already grabbing their jackets from the coat rack by the door. “Thanks, Abs,” Gibbs said. He looked at Greg. “Figure we’ll need most everything… we were outfitted for late fall, should really be prepared for winter weather up there.”

Greg nodded; he and Abby followed them out of the house and they went their separate ways. 

**Permission**

Gibbs, Tony and Ducky made their way up to Vance’s office; his assistant wasn’t there, his door was open, so they walked right in. 

Vance sat at the long conference table, several folders open in front of him, many more piled up in various stacks. 

“Looks like you’re having a blast,” Gibbs commented. 

Vance snorted and tossed a file onto the table. “Jackie’s taking the kids to visit her cousin. Figured it was a good day to get caught up on a few things.”

Gibbs head tilted to one side. “Not your favorite person?”

“More like I’m not hers. She always said Jackie could do better.”

Gibbs nodded thoughtfully. “Second ex’s family felt the same way.”

Vance nodded to Tony and Ducky, then pushed his chair back and stood up. “Let’s get comfortable, gentlemen.” He led them over to the small couch and chairs that sat in the far corner, then waited for Ducky to choose a seat before taking a leather recliner. Gibbs and Tony ended up on the couch. 

Vance sat back, resting one ankle on a knee, and looked pointedly at Gibbs. “So… let’s hear it.”

Gibbs shifted slightly in his seat, clearly searching for a way to explain. Tony watched him for a few seconds, then went to speak, but Ducky beat him to it.

“Director, Agent Gibbs is suffering from a relatively mild form of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, incurred as a result of his rather supernatural experiences from several weeks ago.”

Vance’s gaze shifted from Gibbs to Ducky and then back. “Why am I only hearing about this now?”

Gibbs’ sat up straight. “I can still do my job.”

Tony nodded; Vance looked at Ducky. 

“Very true, Agent Gibbs is perfectly capable of continuing his work with his team. It is off the job, however, that he’s experiencing some difficulties.”

Tony took up the thread. “Gibbs is having trouble sleeping, Director. Nightmares, that sort of thing.”

Gibbs glared at him; Tony blinked. “What? It’s true.”

Vance cocked his head. “And you know this how? Didn’t think Gibbs was the type to share.”

Gibbs spoke up, his voice just a little growly. “Tony’s been staying with me. He was on my six through it all, he knows what happened. It helps, having him around.”

Ducky nodded. “I did suggest that Jethro have company when off duty; Anthony is the most reasonable person, given that he is ‘in the know,’ as they say, and so few others are.”

“I take it you’ve been fully briefed, Doctor?”

“I have. They felt it prudent, given the difficulties Jethro was having.”

Vance sat forward a bit. “And you believe it all, without having seen it? I saw it, and I’m still not sure I really believe it.”

Ducky smiled. “I’ll admit it took a little convincing, but there were pictures. And while I may not have a gut instinct like Jethro’s, I do believe I may say with some confidence that I can generally tell when someone is attempting to pull the wool over my eyes.”

Vance’s lips twitched; he looked over at Gibbs. “So you want to go back up the mountain? To do what, exactly?”

“Deal with it. Confront this head on.”

Vance blinked. “You really think it will help?”

“If I may,” Ducky broke in, “Agent Gibbs has been through an experience few people can relate to. He was forced into a body that was not his own, rendered unable to communicate clearly, and had no way of knowing if he would ever be himself again. I would guess, and please excuse me if I am overstepping here, my dear boy, that going back up the mountain and confronting this supernatural being may be exactly what he needs to regain confidence in the life he’s up until now been able to take for granted.”

They all looked at Gibbs, who glanced back at everyone before sighing quietly and gazing at the floor. “Yeah, that.”

Vance bit his lip, clearly trying to suppress a laugh. Tony’s lips twitched; he reached out to squeeze Gibbs’ shoulder. Ducky and Vance both watched him, then traded significant glances.

Vance sat back and nodded. “Alright. I need my best team in top shape. If this is what it takes to get it there, then I’ll sign off. It’s not like you both don’t have plenty of vacation days piled up.”

Gibbs looked up and inclined his head. “Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it.” Vance reached up to rub the back of his head. “What do you want to do with McGee and David?”

Tony and Gibbs looked at each other. “They don’t know what happened,” Tony said. “Give them time off? They can’t come with us without needing a ton of explanation which they’ll refuse to believe anyway.”

“That’s probably for the best,” Ducky added.

Vance nodded. “If they don’t want to use up some days, I’ll farm them out to other teams.” He stood suddenly, stretching a bit. “I’m guessing you want to go as soon as possible?”

They all stood. Gibbs looked at Tony, who sighed. “Tuesday? We should talk to them on Monday – they’ll _really_ be pissed off if we just disappear.”

Vance snorted again, then headed back to his files. “Go on, get out of here. I need to get back to work. Doctor Mallard, thank you for your input.”

“Always a pleasure, Director.”

They left the office, heading for the car and home.

**Doubts**

They returned to the house after dropping Ducky back at his home. Tony had called Abby while Gibbs drove, updating her and Greg and setting a time for them to go buy the gear they’d need the next day. 

Gibbs headed for the basement as soon as they returned. Tony watched him go, noted the stiffness in his movements, and decided to give him some space. He called down that he was going to run a few errands and take care of some things back at his apartment, then return later. He got a faint grunt as acknowledgment, and made himself scarce.

By the time Tony returned that evening, bearing take out from the Greek diner a few blocks away, Gibbs had relaxed enough to meet him in the kitchen and help grab plates, silverware, and a few beers. They set up at the table, eating silently until the initial hunger pangs were satisfied. 

“Made arrangements with one of my neighbors to feed Kate,” Tony said. “Got everything I think I need from home in the car, so I can stay here until we head out.”

Gibbs nodded. “Sounds good. And Tony… thanks.”

Tony reached out and took Gibbs’ hand. “No need for that. It’s like I told Greg – where you go, I go.”

Gibbs sat back and looked at him thoughtfully, drinking some beer before setting the bottle down on the table with a light thunk. “I think this is more than you bargained for.”

Tony shrugged. “For better or for worse, right?”

Gibbs laughed while Tony sat back and grinned at him. “I must have missed the ceremony,” Gibbs commented with a smile. “Was it nice?”

Tony favored him with a mock pout. “I can’t believe you don’t remember the most important day of our life together.”

The head slap was more of a tap, but Tony reached up to rub the top of his head anyway. “I seem to recall telling you not to do that again… like, a million years ago.”

“How’s that working for you?”

Tony dropped his hand and his expression grew serious. “Really well, actually.”

Gibbs blinked, cleared his throat, then reached forward to take Tony’s hand. “Good.”

“Yeah.”

They both grabbed their beers with their free hands, silently toasting each other, clinking the bottles together, then drinking. Tony put his down on the table and squeezed Gibbs’ hand. 

“You really okay with going back up there?”

Gibbs took a deep breath, then made a strange gesture with his head that was somewhere between a shake and a nod. “Yes, no, maybe? Don’t like feeling so off-balance… would rather confront this head on.”

“Yeah, I can see that.” Tony shifted his chair a bit closer to Gibbs. “What’s your gut say about Greg? Think he’s really doing this to help?”

Gibbs was quiet for a several seconds before nodding slowly. “Yeah… I think so. Wasn’t sure at first, but Abby’s adamant about him – says he’s the real deal, that he couldn’t lie his way out of a paper bag.”

Tony shook his head. “Abby’s got more than a few blind spots when it comes to her friends sometimes.”

“I know… but not this time. I think we can trust him.”

“If it’s alright with you, I’ll stay on just this side of skeptical.”

Gibbs tilted his head. “You think he’s got ulterior motives?”

Tony shrugged. “You said it yourself last night… given that he clearly wants to be able to do that shaman thing and become a bird, this is all just a bit convenient.”

Gibbs’ brow furrowed, but he didn’t comment.

Tony squeezed Gibbs’ hand, then let go and stood to start clearing the table. “For what it’s worth, I think you’re probably right. He strikes me as a good guy, sincere and all that. I warned him, if anything happens to you up there…”

Gibbs looked up at him. “Same goes for your sake, too.”

Tony smiled. “I know.” He brought the dishes and trash into the kitchen. “What do you want to do tonight?”

Gibbs got up and followed him. “Don’t suppose you’ve got that third movie and your DVD player with you?”

Tony turned to face him. “Return of the King? That would be great, actually… means going back over to my place, though.”

“Think Kate will mind?”

“Nah. She likes company.”

“Let’s do that. I was having trouble concentrating on the boat this afternoon.”

Tony moved closer to him, laying the palm of his hand against the side of Gibbs’ face. “You were okay down there on your own?”

Gibbs nodded. “Yeah, fine… now that we’ve made the decision to go, I just want to get started.”

“I get that… and I also get that you’re definitely getting more like yourself.”

“A lot of that is due to you.”

Tony leaned in and brushed his lips over Gibbs’. “Just remember that the next time I do something silly at work.”

Gibbs reached up to thread his fingers through Tony’s hair, pulling him back in and kissing him more thoroughly. He moved back after a moment, and gave Tony a serious look. “It’s important to keep work and home separate. Would be wrong to give you special treatment, now wouldn’t it?”

Tony sighed. “It was worth a try.”

Gibbs grinned at him, then let go of his hair and lowered his hand, giving him a light smack on his rear. “Come on, let’s go watch evil get its ass kicked.”

Tony laughed and followed Gibbs to the door. “When you put it like that, who can resist?”


	9. Packing and Thinking

Tony shook his head as he stood in Gibbs’ living room Sunday evening, surveying the piles of equipment they’d picked up that afternoon. _Hiking poles, larger packs, more layers of clothes than I can shake a stick at – why would I want to shake a stick, anyway? – heavy duty sleeping bags, new tent, new boots, crampons… what the hell were those things called – oh, yeah, gaiters… plenty of food, at least… crap. This is worse than last time._

He jumped a bit when Gibbs’ hand landed on his shoulder. 

“You okay, Tony?”

“Yeah, I guess. It’s just…” His voice trailed off and he waved at the pile of gear. “There’s an awful lot of stuff.”

“Gotta be prepared for whatever the mountain throws at us.”

Tony nodded. “I may have to take out a loan.”

Gibbs smiled at him. “It wasn’t that bad. And at least there’s only the one tent.”

Tony returned the smile, remembering the salesman’s surprised expression when Gibbs had been adamant about sharing a tent with Tony. Greg had taken it in stride, just making it clear to the guy that he already had his own tent. 

Tony’s gaze settled on the pile of food next to the two backpacks. Gibbs had a supply of self-heating meals he had stashed away for emergencies that he was packing, although they were still bringing the camp stove for coffee and hot chocolate, along with lots of nutritious snack food. 

Gibbs laughed softly and ruffled Tony’s hair. “You won’t starve, you know.”

“I’ll probably gain weight. Have you seen the calorie counts on those meal packs?!”

“Believe me, you’ll need ‘em. Keep you warm.”

“I was sorta hoping you’d do that.” Tony’s lips twitched a bit as he gave Gibbs a sidelong glance. 

Gibbs turned to face him. “Plannin’ on it… but likely only in the privacy of our tent, unless you’re feeling comfortable with an audience.”

Tony wrinkled his nose. “Privacy sounds like a plan. Not that Greg seems to mind, but still.” 

Gibbs patting Tony’s shoulder, then moved to the gear and started packing it up. Tony watched him for a few minutes. “We could do that tomorrow night, you know.”

Gibbs shrugged. “Rather spend some time on the boat tomorrow, relax. This way I can see if we’re forgetting anything, pick it up before we head north.”

“Want me to help?”

“Probably easier if I just do it.”

Tony gave in to that logic and took a seat on one of the armchairs, watching as Gibbs divided everything up fairly evenly, except for attaching the tent to the bottom of his own pack. He cleared his throat. “We’ll switch off carrying that, right?”

Gibbs glanced over at him with a smile. “If you insist.”

“I do.” Tony didn’t say anything else, just continued to watch, trying to quell the growing nerves when Gibbs began packing the emergency gear. He thought back to McGee’s lectures on hiking and camping, the ones he’d had to sit through before he took Gibbs in fox form to the mountain. McGee had clearly been worried about Tony’s ability to handle the great outdoors, and that had been before snow and ice and bone-chilling cold…

“Hey.”

Tony looked up, startled. Gibbs met his eyes, concern and a hint of unease on his face. The older man got up and walked the few steps to where Tony was sitting, stopping a couple of feet away and looking pointedly at Tony’s right hand, which was energetically tapping on the arm of the chair. “You okay?”

Tony shrugged. “Second time you’ve asked me that. I’m fine, why?”

Gibbs shook his head. “No, you’re not.” He sat on the couch and met Tony’s eyes. “You don’t have to come, you know.”

“Oh, yes I do. You heard Greg… I’ve been spirit-touched or whatever too.”

“Still…”

“No way, Jethro. If I stay here, I’ll go crazy wondering what’s happening and feeling like I should be on your six. Not of mention Tim and Ziva will drive me crazy with questions and veiled threats.”

Gibbs snorted. “Not if I tell them not to, they won’t.”

“That might last a day, two tops. Then Ziva will start playing with paperclips again, and Tim will try to hack into something, and Abby will keep coming upstairs for updates and making them even more suspicious.”

Gibbs tried to suppress a smile. “You’re probably right.”

“How do you want to handle telling them we’re leaving again?”

Gibbs stretched his legs out in front of him and sighed. “Rule seven.”

Tony’s eyebrows shot up. “Exactly how specific do you want to be?”

“I figure we fall back on Ducky’s diagnosis. Already shared that with them, and it’s a reasonable excuse for leaving.”

“Maybe for you… how do we explain me going with you and leaving them behind? Tim probably won’t put up too much of a fight about it, but Ziva…”

“I can just pull out that second B.”

Tony nodded slowly. “The bastard defense. I like it.” 

Gibbs shot him a boyish grin. “There’s a reason why I maintain that reputation, you know. Means I don’t have to explain myself too often.”

Tony returned the smile. “It does work for you.” He shifted his gaze to the packs. “So… what do I have to worry about up there?”

Gibbs looked at him thoughtfully. “Hopefully nothing.” He moved a bit on the couch, changing position to face Tony. “Promise me something.”

“Anything.”

“You notice anything not right, you feel less than one hundred percent, you tell me. Mountain’s going to be too dangerous to pretend you’re fine when you’re not.”

“What, you mean like avalanches and stuff?”

“Doesn’t have to be so dramatic. Hypothermia’ll sneak up on you fast. Frostbite too.”

“That’s what we have the hand and toe-warmers for. And those bally thingies.”

“Balaclavas. Might not need those unless it gets really cold.” Gibbs’ expression became mischievous. “You realize, between those and the hats, you’re gonna have to do without all that crap you put in your hair.”

“Ha, ha. Like I was gonna try to carry it with me anyway.” Tony sighed. “Is that all?”

“Easy to dehydrate, too. Gotta be careful, in the cold.”

Tony looked disgruntled. “So… hypothermia, frostbite, dehydration, tree spirits that might be monsters, and bad hair. Can’t wait.”

“You don’t have to go, Tony. I mean it.”

“You’re not going without me, Jethro. And _I_ mean _that_.”

They stared at each other for a long time, and then Gibbs smiled. “My loyal Saint Bernard.”

“Why change a good thing now?”

“Can’t think of a reason.”

Tony sighed and sat forward. “Listen, Jethro… I was debating talking to you about this, but I think you need to have some time to think about it.”

Gibbs cocked his head to one side and waited.

Tony grimaced and reached up to rub at his eyes. “Yesterday, when you were in the basement with Abby, Greg and I talked about the spirit and the dreams and all that.” He hesitated for a moment, but began speaking as soon as Gibbs shifted impatiently. “Greg brought up an, um… interesting possibility. He thinks maybe you might be able to turn into the fox again, you know, voluntarily. And turn back into yourself, of course.” He snuck a quick glance at Gibbs, who had become very still. “And, uh, there’s more.”

Tony bit his lip and met Gibbs’ eyes. “He thinks maybe I could too. ‘Cause of the dreams, and all that.”

Gibbs stared at Tony a moment longer, then shook his head and cleared his throat. “Hell of a thing, Tony.”

“Yeah.”

They were silent for a long time, until Tony sighed and sat up. “You realize what this means, right?”

Gibbs turned his head to look at him. “You think Greg might push for us to try it.”

“I know Abby trusts him, but he’s clearly excited about the idea of becoming his shaman animal. Might make him push for something he wouldn’t otherwise.”

Gibbs nodded. “I’m glad you told me. Would have been difficult to think it through up there.”

“What’s your gut reaction?”

“About Greg? Or about being the fox again?”

“Either. Both.”

“You might be right about him. Don’t think he’d intentionally do anything to get us in trouble… could get carried away, though.”

“Except he’s got to know Abby would kill him.”

Gibbs chuckled. “There is that.”

Tony stayed quiet for a moment, but then took a chance. “And about the fox?”

Gibbs stared at the coffee table for several minutes while Tony waited. Finally, he shook his head. “I honestly don’t know.” He looked up at his friend. “Wasn’t all bad, Tony. But…”

Tony picked up the thought. “Heck of a risk, trying to be the fox without being absolutely certain you’ll be able to control it and turn back.”

“Yeah.” Gibbs fell silent again. Tony watched him carefully for a while, then got to his feet. “I could go for a snack. You want anything?”

Gibbs shook his head. “Think I’ll go work on the boat for a while.”

“You know… could be a moot point. Being the fox again – maybe it’s not possible.”

Gibbs smiled at him, then got up and headed for the basement. “Maybe not. Tony… thanks. You were right to tell me now.”

Tony nodded. “You want company?”

Gibbs shook his head. “Think I’ll just lose myself in the wood for a while.” He stopped, turning and looking at Tony. “You mind?”

“Course not. I’ve got a book I can read.”

“Don’t wait up.”

“Just don’t forget to get some sleep tonight.”

“I won’t.”

Tony smiled, then went upstairs while Gibbs headed for the boat. 

Hours later, Tony shifted over in his sleep, moving closer to the warm body that had just joined him in bed. Not long after that, they were sharing a dream in which Tony was once again chasing a playful fox through the trees.


	10. Leave-Taking

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edited 3/14/14 to fix a continuity error.

**Telling the Team**

The morning was half gone before Gibbs left his desk and headed upstairs to talk to Vance. Ziva and McGee were going through cold case files, while Tony was handling some of the reports that were his responsibility as senior field agent. 

It was maybe twenty minutes later when they were all interrupted with a loud “Hey!” Tony turned around and looked up to see Gibbs on the upper landing, leaning on the railing. “Conference room.”

The three agents got to their feet and headed for the stairs. Ziva fell in next to Tony. “What is this about?”

Tony sighed. “You’ll find out in a minute.” 

“You already know,” she accused. 

“Yup.”

Ziva grumbled something under her breath. Tony looked at McGee, who glanced at her and shrugged. “You know she hates it when you guys keep secrets from her.”

“I can speak for myself, McGee,” Ziva said tartly.

“Just thought you should know that I know,” he responded, “and that I’m not too crazy about it either.”

Ziva smiled at him as they jogged up the stairs. “Thank you, Tim.”

Gibbs was already seated when they reached the conference room. Tony let the other two go in first, then closed the door as he followed them. 

Gibbs spoke as soon as they were all seated. “I’m headed back up north tomorrow morning; Tony’s going with me. We’ll likely be gone at least a week. You’re welcome to take some vacation time; if you don’t want to burn the days, Ziva, Pearson can use a fourth on her team since Henderson’s still on maternity leave, and Tim, Vance says there’s some new challenges down in the cyber unit if you want to take charge.”

There was a moment of silence before both junior agents began talking at once. Gibbs tolerated it for only a moment before he let out a loud whistle, looking to Tony as soon as the room quieted.

Tony leaned forward, resting his forearms on the table. “Look, Tim, Ziva… I know this sucks. And yes, before you ask, we _are_ a team. You talked with Ducky… you know Gibbs went through a rough time up there. He’s still dealing with it, and without going into so much detail that I get the mother of all head slaps, he needs to go back up there and confront the demons, you know?”

“And you are going why, exactly?” Ziva asked.

“Already told you he saved my life on the mountain. He knows what went down.”

Tony’s eyes met Gibbs’ briefly before he looked over at Ziva. “Can you see Gibbs being willing to talk it all through, Ziva? He doesn’t have to explain anything to me… I can be on his six without him worrying about it.”

Ziva’s eyes narrowed; she was about to speak when Gibbs cut in.

“Ziver… there’s no enemy up there for you to shoot. No one to fight. This is… personal. If you’d been up there with me first time around, you’d be going now.”

Ziva stared at him for a long moment, then nodded once. “I understand. I do. I would just like to say that I wish to be considered the next time there is a dangerous operation.”

Gibbs nodded. “You will be.”

Ziva gave him a small smile, then looked at Tony. “Take care of him, Tony. And yourself. I will be very displeased if either of you comes to harm.”

Tony’s smile was genuine. “Thanks, Ziva.”

She nodded. “I understand personal demons.” 

“I know.”

Ziva looked at Gibbs. “Are we done here? I would like to find Pearson and see how I could help.”

Gibbs nodded. “You go ahead. And Ziva… thank you.”

McGee cleared his throat as she left. “I get it too… but Tony – winter hiking? Are you sure?”

Tony sat back and shook his head. “Honestly? Not really. But this time there’s no reason to pretend I know what I’m doing, since I’ll be with Gibbs the whole time.”

The younger man smiled. “If Gibbs can’t keep you safe, you’re doomed.”

“Gee, thanks.”

McGee looked at both of them. “You think you’ll tell us what really happened up there, someday?”

Tony waved a hand in Gibbs’ direction. “That’s up to the bossman.”

McGee nodded. “Fair enough. Good luck, both of you.” He got to his feet. “I’ll go see the Director, find out what’s going on in the sub-basement.” He closed the door behind him, leaving Tony and Gibbs alone.

Tony grinned at Gibbs. “Way to be a bastard, Boss.”

Gibbs shot him a small smile. “Figured appealing to her own past experiences would be better… she’s less likely to go behind our backs now.”

“That actually went a lot better than I’d expected.” 

“Good people,” Gibbs commented. 

Tony nodded. “What’s next?”

Gibbs shrugged. “Finish up that paperwork, clear off the desks as much as possible, head out when we’re done. Dinner?”

“Sure. I’ll run back to the apartment, made sure everything’s good. Gonna head down to see Ducky, then I’ll be back at my desk.”

Gibbs looked at him searchingly, then nodded. “Good.”

**Ducky**

Tony breezed into Autopsy, glancing around to see Ducky and Palmer absorbed with a body on one of the tables. 

“Hey, Ducky… what ‘cha got?”

Ducky looked up from where he was bent over the body and smiled. “Anthony! Always a delight, my boy.” He straightened and sighed as he looked back down at the young man he’d recently cut open. “Apparent drunk driving – this lad was his own victim, I’m afraid. Abby’s running the toxicology screen now, but I have no doubt about the outcome.”

Palmer glanced at him, and then at Tony. “At least he didn’t hurt anyone else.”

Tony looked down at the unmarked but dead face. “Small favors.”

“Indeed.” Ducky’s gaze sharpened a bit. “You appear to have something on your mind.”

Tony nodded, then shrugged. “I can come back later, since you’re busy.”

Ducky shook his head and turned to his assistant. “Mister Palmer, I want you to continue with the autopsy. You know what to do.”

Palmer’s face lit up. “Are you sure, Doctor?”

Ducky smiled at him. “I am. I shall check your work, if that will make you feel better, but I doubt I will find anything amiss.”

“Thank you, Doctor Mallard!”

Ducky led the way to the opposite side of the room, pulling the chair away from his desk and motioning for Tony to grab one for himself. Tony did so, clearing his throat as he sat.

“I take it this has to do with Jethro?”

“Yeah, but I’m actually here on my own account.”

Ducky’s eyebrows rose. “Then let me know what I can do to help.”

Tony glanced over at Palmer, who was clearly focused on his work, muttering to himself. He looked back at Ducky and tapped his chest. “Going back up north… I’m wondering if my lungs are going to handle the weather.”

Ducky’s eyes widened. “My dear boy – I do apologize. I never considered what the scarring in your lungs might mean for this trip.”

Tony waved him off. “No need to apologize. They haven’t really bothered me in a long time now. I didn’t really think of it myself. Watching Jethro packing up the emergency supplies last night, well, it got me thinking.”

“Perhaps it would be best to put off this trip until spring?”

“You really think Gibbs can wait that long?”

Ducky frowned, then slowly shook his head. “Well. I do believe he _can_ , but I don’t think he _should_.” He looked thoughtfully at the younger man. “You’ve been doing well with managing any symptoms. When was the last time you had to use your inhaler?”

Tony shrugged. “Couldn’t say… it’s been a long time. I make sure they’re all within the expiration date, though.”

“And the last time you saw Dr. Pitt?”

“Everything was clear. He said if he didn’t know I’d had the plague, he wouldn’t suspect any scarring at all.”

Ducky opened a drawer, pulling out a prescription pad and writing quickly before tearing off the top sheet. “This is for a steroid inhaler. Use it twice a day; start tonight. You can use the rescue inhaler at the same time, if need be. But this may give you a bit more, ah, breathing room, shall we say.”

Tony grinned at him as he took the paper. “The Duckster, making with the puns. Nice one!”

Ducky smiled and shook his head, but his expression quickly grew serious. “Have you spoken to Jethro about this?”

Tony looked down at the paper. “Do they teach you scribblese in med school? How can the pharmacist translate this?”

“Do I need to call Jethro down here?”

Tony’s head shot up. “No! I’ll talk to him tonight, I promise.” He met Ducky’s steady gaze. “Okay, I haven’t brought it up specifically, but last night he insisted I let him know if I’m not feeling a hundred percent, so I think that means he’s thought of it. And I told him I was coming to see you just now.”

Ducky continued to look at him. “Promise me you will talk to him about this as soon as may be, and will do as he has requested.”

Tony nodded. “I promise, Ducky.”

“I shall hold you to that, my boy.” Ducky got to his feet. “It may do Jethro some good to worry about you rather than obsess over recent events.” He laid his hand on Tony’s arm. “Do be careful, Anthony. None of us can afford to lose you, him least of all.”

Tony blinked rapidly, and gave Ducky a puzzled smile.

“My dear fellow, you can’t tell me you don’t know how hugely you figure in his life. You’ve been an important part of it ever since he found you in Baltimore. Given the changes your relationship seems to be undergoing, you are more vital to him than ever. Please do be careful, for his sake as well as your own.”

Tony squeezed Ducky’s hand. “Thanks... I’ll take care of myself, I promise. ” He hesitated, then added, “And him.” He stood, heading for the door, tossing a salute in Palmer’s direction. “Later, Black Lung!”

Palmer waved the slightly bloody tool in his hands as Tony disappeared and Ducky approached the table. 

“Well, now, let’s see what you have accomplished!”

**Worry**

“Dinner!” Tony called out as he walked into Gibbs’ house. He could hear Gibbs’ feet coming up the stairs from the basement as he made for the kitchen. “Chicken parm for me, breaded pork chops for you.”

Gibbs peered over his shoulder as Tony set the large paper bag on the counter. “Smells good.”

“It’s a nice place, authentic. Worth the wait for the takeout.” He looked over at Gibbs. “We should go sometime.”

Gibbs opened the container with his dinner. “If this tastes as good as it smells, we will.”

Tony grinned as he opened a cabinet to grab some plates. Gibbs went to the refrigerator to get them each a beer, then followed Tony out to the dining table. 

They ate in silence for a few minutes, then Tony took a long pull from his beer and looked over at Gibbs. “Tim and Ziva still okay?”

Gibbs nodded. “Pearson wants to send Ziva undercover as a fashion model. Got a hot case involving drugs being brought on base, traced them back to this modeling agency, but not sure exactly who the players are.”

“She’s gonna love that.”

“She was pretty excited about it. And Tim looked happy about joining the cyber unit again.”

“What’s Vance got him working on?”

“Hell if I know. Left the two of them talking gobbledygook.”

Tony laughed at that. “I’m sure Probie’s gonna enjoy it, whatever it is.” He took another bite of his chicken. “You see Ducky and Abby before you left?”

“Gave Duck the basics about Greg’s monster idea. He’s intrigued, but not worried. Says it seems to him if the spirit or monster or whatever wanted to mess with us, it wouldn’t have turned me back.”

“Smart man, our Ducky.”

“Yep.”

“How’s Abs?”

Gibbs smiled as he cut another piece off his pork chop. “Hugged me to within an inch of my life.”

Tony nodded. “Someday she’s gonna break a rib. Then she’ll break another one when she hugs as an apology.”

Gibbs grunted an acknowledgment. 

“She stopping by later?”

Gibbs shook his head. “Doubt it. She was going out to dinner with Greg, was gonna get all the details from him, I think. She said you stopped by before you left.”

“She’s been awesome through all this. Said she’ll text us if she digs up anything else about the spirit-monster.”

“We’re gonna have the expert with us.”

“You know how much faith she has in the internet. She thinks she can find something that he wouldn’t know about – and maybe she can.”

Gibbs raised his beer. “If anyone can, she can.”

Tony clinked the neck of his bottle against Gibbs’. “To Abby.”

“To Abby.”

They finished dinner and worked together to clean up. Afterwards, Tony wandered into the living room and looked over the packs. “We all set?”

Gibbs moved to stand next to him. “Yup. Anything we figure we need, we can pick up before heading up the mountain.” He surveyed the equipment for a moment, then looked sidelong at Tony, whose expression was a mix of pensive and apprehensive.

Tony sensed the scrutiny and sighed, reaching up to grip Gibbs’ shoulder for a moment before he headed for the coat rack next to the front door. He returned with a small white paper bag, reaching into it to pull out a box that he held out to Gibbs. The older man took it and read the cover carefully before looking at Tony. “Ducky?”

“Yeah. Went to ask him how to make sure the cold doesn’t affect my lungs too much. Already have the usual rescue inhalers… this is in addition to that. I take it twice a day.”

Gibbs opened the box and took the inhaler out, handing it to Tony. 

“Now?”

Gibbs nodded. 

Tony smiled at him. “Gotta get some water… supposed to rinse after I use it.” He went back to the kitchen and grabbed a glass from the cabinet, filling it at the sink. He used the inhaler, breathing deeply and then holding it in before exhaling slowly. He rinsed his mouth, spitting the water into the sink before turning around and letting out a small squeak when he saw Gibbs only inches away. 

Gibbs’ lips twitched a bit. The two men stood there, staring into each others’ eyes for what seemed like a long time. Tony finally broke the spell, reaching up to lay the palm of his hand against Gibbs’ face. “I’ll be okay, Jethro.”

Gibbs took a deep breath, then nodded. “You better be.” 

Tony smiled and dropped his hand. “I promised Ducky earlier and I promise you now that I’ll tell you if I don’t feel right.”

“How bad?”

“You mean how bad might it get?”

Gibbs inclined his head. Tony shrugged.

“Cold air, physical exertion… I figure I’ll have to use the rescue inhaler at some point.”

Gibbs’ brow furrowed and Tony shook his head. “That’s not as bad as it sounds. I use that if things start to feel tight… rescue doesn’t necessarily mean I’m dying or anything.”

Gibbs started to speak, then shook his head and closed his mouth. He sighed and reached up to run his fingers through his own hair. “I want to tell you to stay home… but I also want you with me. Can’t imagine dealing with that spirit again without you there.”

Tony leaned in and dropped a kiss on Gibbs’ hair. “I wouldn’t stay home even if you ordered me to.”

“Figured that.”

Tony winked at him, then moved back out to the living room, stashing the inhaler in his pack and checking on the other ones. He picked up one of the hiking poles, looking it over carefully before setting it back down, then tugged on the clips attaching his sleeping bag to the bottom of his pack. 

Gibbs watched him for a few minutes before walking to the front door and locking it. Moving back to the living room, he turned the dimmer switch on the lamp, lowering the lighting in the room. Tony looked up, then back at Gibbs, who walked over to him and reached out a hand. 

Tony took it, letting Gibbs pull him to his feet and then over to the couch. They sat down next to each other, Tony letting his head rest on the back of the couch while Gibbs sat facing him, still holding his hand.

“We can wait for warmer weather.”

Tony turned to look at him. “Ducky talked to you?”

Gibbs looked puzzled and shook his head. Tony sighed, looking down at their joined hands and rubbing his thumb over Jethro’s fingers. “Gotta face those demons, Jethro. I appreciate the thought, but I don’t like the idea of you having those worries haunting you for months. The dreams… they’re fun some of the time, but the rest of it – not cool.”

Gibbs sighed. “You’re right… but I need you to be careful.”

“I will be. Can’t be on your six if I’m not in good shape.”

“You remember that.” Gibbs leaned in close, brushing a kiss over Tony’s lips. “Need you, Tony,” he whispered.

Tony reached up, cupping one hand behind Gibbs’ head and pulling him closer. He returned the kiss, his tongue lightly touching Jethro’s lips. He pulled back after a moment, his eyes meeting Gibbs’. “We need to do this now… want to be able to get our lives back to normal, see where this thing between us is going.”

Gibbs rested his forehead against Tony’s. “Yeah.”

Tony smiled. “Yeah.”

Gibbs moved back a bit, smiling, then leaned in again. This kiss was deeper, more demanding. Gibbs raised both hands to Tony’s face, and Tony groaned quietly as their tongues met. He gripped Gibbs’ hair tightly as his other arm encircled the man’s waist, holding him close. 

Gibbs shifted closer to Tony, pressing against him. Their kisses intensified until Gibbs pulled back, breathing heavily, shifting his attention to Tony’s neck. The younger man dropped his head back, murmuring encouragement. Gibbs lightly scraped his teeth over Tony’s skin, making him gasp and grip Gibbs’ hair tightly. 

Gibbs dropped his head, resting against Tony’s shoulder and forcing himself to relax. Tony immediately picked up on the shift in mood, and loosened his grip, threading his fingers through Gibbs’ hair and gently rubbing Gibbs’ back with his other hand.

They sat together like that for a long time; no words were exchanged. 

Eventually Gibbs pulled back and sat up. Their eyes met; they both smiled. 

“Sleep?” Gibbs asked, his voice rough.

Tony sighed. “Early morning, right?”

Gibbs nodded. 

“Then let’s go.”

They headed upstairs, with Gibbs turning off the lights as he went. It wasn’t long before they were both lying down, curled around each other. Tony hadn’t expected to fall asleep easily, but Gibbs was asleep within minutes and Tony wasn’t far behind. 

Neither man dreamed that night, or if they did, they didn’t remember it.


	11. Scenes From A Trip

**Setting Out**

Tony walked out to Gibbs’ truck, his pack on his back and his hiking poles in his hands. The pack was heavy; Gibbs had laughed at him when he’d commented on it, making a reference to his time in the Marines. Tony just rolled his eyes, earning himself a light tap on the head, which made him smile.

“I think that’s everything,” he called out to Gibbs, who was clamping a folding hard cover at the front of the truck bed. 

Gibbs grunted in reply, hoisting himself up onto the bed to check a fastening. 

“I’ll go make sure we haven’t left anything behind,” Tony said, heading back to the house. He heard a car, and turned to see Greg’s SUV pull into Gibbs’ driveway. He waved, then jogged into the house. 

They’d gotten everything into the truck. Tony had checked his pack several times, making sure he had everything. He was tempted to check it again, but decided against annoying Gibbs. 

His phone beeped with a text alert. He pulled it out of his pocket, and hit the screen to find a text from Abby.

_B safe! Take care of Gibbs. And you._

_Will do_ , he replied. _Greg here, heading out in a few._

_K, luv you guys!_

Tony smiled as he took one last look around; his phone beeped again just as he was putting it back in his pocket. 

_If Gibbs becomes a fox again, give him a pat for me!_

Tony shook his head. “She means well,” he muttered to himself.

“What was that?”

Tony jumped a bit and turned around to see Gibbs standing a few feet away. “Just got a text from Abby, wishing us luck.”

Gibbs smiled and shook his head. “Let me guess… she’s hoping I can turn into the fox again.”

Tony stared at him. “I swear, you’re a mind reader.”

“Nah, Greg warned me she got a bit excited about the idea.”

“You okay?”

Gibbs nodded. “You gave me a heads up, Tony. ‘m fine.”

Tony looked him over and grinned. “You sure are.”

Gibbs ducked his head and smiled, then cleared his throat. “All set?”

Tony laughed lightly, then walked past Gibbs, clapping him on the shoulder as he passed him. Gibbs swatted him on the back of the head and followed, pulling the door shut behind him. 

Greg was leaning on his car, smiling at the two men. “Hey, Tony. You guys ready?”

“As we’ll ever be, I guess. You sure you don’t want to ride with us?”

Greg nodded. “I’ll probably head back to my uncle’s after we get back down the mountain. Makes more sense to drive separately.”

“Let us know if you need a break,” Gibbs said.

“Absolutely.” The shaman pushed off from his car, rubbing his hands. “See you for lunch!”

Several minutes later they were on the road. Gibbs was driving the first shift; Tony sat back and idly watched the world go by. He stayed quiet until they merged onto the highway. Traffic wasn’t too bad, since it was early rush hour.

“So,” Tony said, “how cold do you think it’s gonna be up there?”

Gibbs chuckled quietly and shot Tony a mischievous look.

Tony couldn’t help but smile back. “What?!”

“Lost a bet with myself.”

Tony’s eyes narrowed. “How so?”

“You stayed quiet longer than I expected.”

Tony glared and huffed loudly as he sat back in his seat.

Gibbs grinned, reaching out to ruffle Tony’s hair. “Hey, don’t be mad. Now I gotta buy you lunch.”

Tony half-heartedly swatted at Gibbs’ hand. “Dessert included?”

“Sure.”

“Okay then.” Tony reached over, squeezing Gibbs’ leg briefly before stretching and letting out a big sigh. “So,” he started again, “you ever see the movie ‘Into the Wild’?” 

Gibbs smiled.

**Overnight in CT**

Tony woke up in the middle of the night, disoriented for a moment by the familiarity of the room. They were staying in the same motel in Hartford they’d stayed at the first time around; for all Tony could tell, they were in the same room. 

He propped himself up on one arm and looked at the other bed, tension easing when he saw Gibbs’ human form illuminated by the streetlight. Sighing quietly, he lay back down, staring up at the ceiling while he thought about the day.

They’d had lunch at a rest stop in New Jersey, spending much of the time arguing about the merits of driving up into southern New Hampshire. Gibbs had wanted to push through, get to the mountain the next day and start the hike; now that he was finally taking action, he wanted to confront the tree spirit – or whatever it really was – as soon as possible. Greg had argued against that, saying the hike would be challenging enough without adding a sleep deficit to it. Tony’s opinion of Greg had improved at that point – he’d liked the guy before, but the fact that he didn’t back down when faced with the Gibbs glare had Tony’s approval. 

Tony’s attention shifted as Gibbs rolled over, facing him and reaching up to rub his eyes. “What’s wrong, Tony?”

“Nothing, really. I woke up, got weirded out by the room, saw you were still human, and am just waiting to go back to sleep.”

Gibbs laughed quietly. “Yeah, this whole thing has a little too much déjà vu all over again.”

Tony grinned. “Nice Yogi reference!”

“Fits.”

“That it does.” Tony shifted around until he was facing Gibbs. He couldn’t quite make out the other man’s features. “You okay with all this?”

Gibbs shrugged. “Yeah. Feel better now that we’re doing something.”

“Figured as much. Kinda like that Greg didn’t jump on your bandwagon, though.”

There was a short pause. “Why’s that?”

“Thought he’d want to push it too – but now I’m thinking maybe he’s not so gung ho about the spirit after all.”

“Good point.”

“Yeah… I’m still not one hundred percent convinced he won’t try to sacrifice you on the altar of his ambition, but I’m less worried about it – for now.”

“Good. Counting on you to help me keep some perspective.”

“On your six, Jethro.”

“I know.”

They fell silent after that, and it wasn’t long before both were sleeping again.

**Night in New Hampshire**

They arrived back at the same motel on Route 302 in New Hampshire around midday. Tony got out of the truck, making a production out of stretching and yawning, earning an eye roll and shake of the head as Gibbs headed to the office. Tony was about to follow when Greg parked his SUV a few spots over; he stopped and waited for the shaman before catching up to Gibbs.

The clerk, a young man in his twenties whose nametag said ‘Brad’, smiled broadly at them. “How can I help you?”

“Two rooms,” Gibbs replied.

Brad hit a few keys on his computer. “Okay… two rooms with two doubles.”

Gibbs shook his head. “One with a king, if you’ve got it.”

Brad looked up, glancing around at all three men. 

Greg smiled at him. “I’ll take a double, thanks.”

Brad looked at Tony, then at Gibbs, then back at Tony. 

“There a problem?” Tony kept the question light.

“Uh, no, not at all!” Brad hit some more keys, grabbed a few printouts, and handed them to Gibbs and Greg, who returned them with credit cards. A little more processing, and they got their key cards. Gibbs ignored the clerk, but Tony watched him; Brad kept glancing between the two agents. When Gibbs and Greg headed back to the cars, Tony leaned on the counter. 

“You sure there’s not problem?”

Brad turned red. “No, of course not!” He stared at Tony for a moment, then blurted out, “He just seems kinda old for you, ya know?”

Tony’s eyes widened, then he laughed. “Not at all – he’s just about perfect.” He tapped the counter, then jogged out to the car.

Gibbs glanced over at him as he unloaded their gear. “What was that about?”

“You don’t want to know.” Tony smiled at him, then reached for his pack and poles. 

“You sure about that?”

Tony looked up at him. “Apparently you’re a cradle robber.”

Gibbs stared at him, then shook his head. “You were right. I don’t want to know.”

They were on the ground floor again, facing the road. Greg was a few doors down; he paused as Tony inserted his card into the slot. “You guys want to head over to my room after you settle in? Figure we should strategize a bit.”

Gibbs nodded. “We’ll be there in ten.”

The room was another flashback to several weeks ago. Gibbs set his gear down on the floor next to the dresser, then turned and stared at the window… he had a vivid memory of looking out a very similar window as a fox, tempted to wave at a group of hikers walking by. 

A touch on his arm startled him out of his reverie. “More déjà vu?”

Gibbs nodded. “That morning before we headed up the mountain.”

Tony scanned the room. “We might be in the same room.” He looked seriously at Gibbs. “I could go ask Brad for a different one.”

Gibbs shook his head. “No need.”

Tony reached out and squeezed Gibbs’ shoulder, then let go and made for the bathroom. Gibbs wandered over to the dresser, looking at himself in the mirror for a moment. _Wonder how Greg could tell I’d been ‘spirit-touched’? And why did he see that in Tony too?_ He sighed and turned his back on the mirror, leaning against the dresser. _What the hell do I do if it turns out I can be that fox again?_

Tony came back out and picked his coat up off the bed. “What is it out there, twenty some-odd degrees?”

Gibbs nodded. “Probably close to freezing.”

“Damn.”

“Gonna be colder up on the mountain.”

“Yeah, that’s what I’m afraid of.” Tony’s eyes narrowed. “Next time, buy your wood from a lumber yard in Florida, ‘kay?”

Gibbs smiled. “Would you rather I’d been turned into an alligator?”

Tony cringed. “The idea of sharing a bed with an alligator… that’s just wrong on so many levels.”

“Come on, let’s go see Greg before this conversation gets any more strange.”

Tony put his coat back on; Gibbs didn’t bother. They knocked on Greg’s door; he opened it right away and ushered them in. “Nice to be out of the car, isn’t it?” He’d pulled the room’s desk away from the wall and moved a few chairs over. He sat on one of the beds and picked up a map, which he opened and laid on the desk. “So, we never really got to go over the details… show me the path you followed last time.”

“Mostly the Crawford Path,” Tony said, “until right about – here.” He pointed to it on the map. “At that point we left the trail and hiked more or less due west for a few hours.”

Gibbs leaned forward in his chair, tracing the path of a stream. “About there, that’s where the tree is.”

Greg nodded absently. “I’ve been in that general area before. Nice place.” He looked up at them. “I’d like to head out as soon as it’s light tomorrow morning. If we can grab an early breakfast at the diner we passed, we can get to the ranger station just as the sun comes up. We’ll want to give them our projected path, in case we run into any trouble. They can share the latest weather reports, too.”

“Gets kind of unpredictable, doesn’t it?” Tony asked.

“Yeah, but storms don’t just come out of nowhere. We’ll be able to get some reliable information. There wasn’t anything severe in the forecast I heard in the car earlier. If we have to, though, we can put things off.”

Gibbs nodded, though he clearly wasn’t happy with that thought.

“So,” Tony said, after a moment of silence, “what happens when we reach the spirit’s tree?”

Greg smiled. “Good question. I’ll try to communicate with it… it might respond to the Abenaki language. There are some rituals I can use, too.” The smile faded as he looked at them more seriously. “I might need to talk to it through you, Gibbs. If I had to guess, based on everything you guys have told me, it likes you.”

“Funny way of showing it,” Gibbs muttered. 

Tony cleared his throat. “What, ah… what are the chances that the spirit decides to turn Gibbs into a fox again?”

Greg shook his head. “I don’t see why it would. It did that for a reason, to force you to take it home. It has no reason to do that now.”

“How’s it going to talk through Gibbs? It’s not going to possess him or something, is it?”

“No, I don’t think so. It didn’t do that before; I’d think if it could, that would have made things easier, in a way.” He glanced between the two men. “I think the dreams are the key. Somehow, it gave you the ability to share those dreams. It may be that we’ll have to figure out how to direct the dreams so you can talk to it.”

“Why the shared dreams in the first place?” Gibbs asked.

Greg shrugged. “I have no idea. There’s no precedent that I’m aware of.” He looked at Tony. “You said the night before Gibbs changed back to his human form, you had a lot of dream-memories, that it felt like someone was sifting through memoires of Gibbs.”

Tony nodded. “Yeah, something like that.”

“I could be way off base,” Greg said slowly, “but I think maybe the spirit sensed the connection between the two of you. Could mean your relationship is a key to getting through to it.”

Gibbs sat back. “And if we’re not dealing with a spirit? If it’s something else, like you were saying the other day?”

“I don’t know if that changes anything.” Greg looked down at the map for a moment, then back up at them. “I think you guys need to do some serious talking. Think through all the possible scenarios you can come up with, decide how you want to handle them.”

Tony spoke up. “You mean, like if the spirit shows Gibbs how to turn back into a fox?”

“Sure, that’s one possibility.”

“You’re hoping for that one, aren’t you?”

Greg sighed. “I won’t pretend that I wouldn’t love to access that… magic, for lack for a better word. But,” he paused and met their gazes squarely, “that’s not our priority here. Or mine. We’re here to establish the limits of what the spirit had done to you, and what it means.”

“And to see what it really is.”

“And to see what it really is,” Greg agreed. He reached for the map and began folding it up. “I figure I’ll let you guys think it all through… I’ve got a few friends in the area I want to catch up with, if I can. Meet you for breakfast in the morning?”

Gibbs and Tony exchanged glances; Gibbs looked at him and nodded. “0530,” he said. Tony grimaced.

Greg smiled. “Works for me.”

They all got to their feet; Gibbs and Tony helped Greg push the table back against the wall and then went back to their room.

**Nighttime Conversation**

They’d ended up driving around the area, seeing some of the sights and picking up a few souvenirs for Abby, along with some touristy postcards for McGee and Ziva… Tony planned to mail them after they got back from the mountain.

Greg’s advice might have been sound for most people, but neither Tony nor Gibbs were comfortable with the idea of hashing out all the different parameters… that wasn’t the way they worked. 

They grabbed dinner at the diner down the road; the food was good, and there was lots of it. Tony decided that would help to motivate him to get out of bed in the morning.

Back at the room, they settled in for an early night. Tony flipped channels on the TV until Gibbs joined him in bed, at which point he hit the power button on the remote while Gibbs turned out the light. They lay there in silence for several minutes, until Tony sighed and turned over, resting his head on Gibbs’ shoulder. 

“There’s one thing we’ve gotta talk about, Jethro.”

Gibbs’ answering grunt had a questioning note to it. 

“If you do end up a fox again… whether the spirit does it to you, or you try it yourself… if you don’t turn back right away, I need to know what you want to do.”

Gibbs was silent for a long time. Tony was debating whether to push, when the older man finally answered. 

“If I’m the fox again, and we can’t turn me back to human… I’ll go home with you.”

Tony pulled Gibbs into a hug, relieved to feel it returned. “Like I said before… I’ve got your six, no matter what species you are.”

“I know, Tony.”

They lay there for a while. Gibbs’ fingers stroked Tony’s hair, while Tony simply held on to the older man. 

_They were on the mountain, sitting by the tree. No wind, but the branches were moving. Tony thought he could almost catch the edges of words in the rustling of the wind through the evergreen needles. Gibbs had one hand on the trunk; his eyes were closed and he sat unnaturally still. Tony watched anxiously as Gibbs’ form wavered and shifted and the fox sat in his place, a paw resting lightly on the bark. The fox opened his eyes, Gibbs’ eyes, and looked at Tony, yipping softly. Tony put his hand on the trunk and closed his eyes. When he opened them again, he had four feet and reddish brown fur. Gibbs moved closer, sniffing Tony’s face, then softly nose-punched him in the side and took off running. Tony followed, and they ran, taking turns chasing each other, until they ended up back at the tree, where they both shifted back to human. The scream of a hawk echoed off the mountain; they both looked up to see the bird soaring overhead, while the branches still moved and the wind continued to speak a language they could almost understand._


	12. Starting Out

**Breakfast**

Tony stirred as the beeping of the alarm drew him up to consciousness. He turned onto his back, reaching up to rub his eyes.

“I smell coffee.”

He heard a low grunt in reply, and sat up, leaning back against the headboard to see Gibbs, clearly already showered and ready to go, sitting on a chair, watching him.

“You went out already?”

Gibbs nodded, motioning with his chin to the end table, where another cup sat waiting for Tony.

“Awesome.” Tony reached out, took a sip, then sighed happily. “What time is it?”

“0500. We’re meeting Greg at the diner in thirty.”

“Yeah, I remember.” Tony drank some more coffee, then took a long look at Gibbs. “You get enough sleep?”

Gibbs shrugged. “Just want to get going.”

Tony nodded, throwing aside the covers and getting to his feet, taking his coffee with him as he headed for the bathroom. “Out in ten.” He stopped next to Gibbs, reaching down to squeeze his shoulder. “It’s gonna be okay.”

Gibbs looked up at him seriously, then cracked a small smile. “Yeah.”

Tony returned the smile, then disappeared into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him.

Fifteen minutes later they were loading the last of their gear into the truck after checking out with the desk clerk. Tony had told this one, a quiet girl whose name tag read ‘Rikki,’ to say hi to Brad for them.

Less than ten minutes after that, they were walking into the diner. Greg was already at a booth; there were a few rangers in uniform at another booth and some truckers at the counter, but other than that the place was empty.

“Morning,” Greg greeted them as they sat down. Gibbs nodded; Tony smiled and gave the windows a pointed look. 

“Is it? Pitch black out there, and way too cold.”

Greg grinned as he picked up the coffee pot and poured them each a cup. “You’ll get used to it. You guys sleep okay?”

“Not bad.”

Their server came over, greeted them, and took their orders. Gibbs stared down into his coffee while Tony sat back and looked at Greg. 

“So how did you and Abby meet?”

Greg smiled at that. “Laundry.”

Gibbs looked up. “How’s that?”

“I’d just moved into the building, and was hopeless with the laundry. Got stuck trying to figure out if I was supposed to pour the detergent in first, like it said on the bottle, or put the clothes in first, like it said on the machine. Must have stood there for a while – it seemed like the hardest puzzle I’d ever tried to solve.” He sat forward, resting his arms on the table. “Then this whirlwind comes in and takes over, talking a mile a minute. She had everything going within seconds, then started grilling me with all sorts of questions.”

“Sounds like our Abby,” Tony commented.

Greg tilted his head to one side. “Yes and no, I think.”

Gibbs’ brow furrowed. “What do you mean?”

“We’ve talked a lot in the past few days. She’s a lot more serious, more thoughtful than the last time we got together.”

“When was that?”

“Couple of years ago, I guess. I’ve been doing a lot of traveling, collecting oral histories for my latest paper… seems like every time I’m in town, she’s too busy with work to do much. We’re pretty good at staying in touch online, though.” He sat back, thinking, then smiled broadly. “We were up until two in the morning, sitting in that laundry room, discussing the intersection of science and philosophy. We agreed on some points, disagreed on others. It was fascinating.”

“Sounds like her.” Tony hesitated, then added, “This job, it can change you. Abby’s seen a lot of stuff lately, and it’s not all pretty.”

Greg frowned at that, then sighed. “I guess that’s to be expected, huh?”

Tony shrugged. Gibbs stared into his coffee, with a thoughtful expression on his face.

The food was delivered, three heaping plates of various pancakes, French toast, bacon, ham, and hash browns. “Better eat it all,” Greg commented, “we’re gonna want the fuel.”

They were silent for a few minutes, then Greg spoke up again. “Abby was amazing, actually. She formed a bowling league among all the grad students, got us into some heavy duty competition. Now she does that with nuns, right?” Both agents nodded. “She was the building dynamo. Thought hugs could solve everything, wanted to save the world through science. Completely dedicated to her work. Not that she didn’t know how to party – but she would drop everything if she had work to do in the lab.”

Tony shot a glance at Gibbs; the older man was more relaxed now, clearly enjoying both the food and the story. _Mission accomplished_ , Tony thought to himself. “Abby’s Gibbs’ favorite,” he told Greg in a conspiratorial voice. 

Gibbs snorted. “On the job, DiNozzo.”

“Oh, yeah? Who is it off the job?”

Gibbs just turned to look at Tony and raised an eyebrow before turning back to his plate. Tony grinned happily and turned his attention back to his food. 

**Back to the Mountain**

They pulled in at the ranger station before sunrise. Greg led the way, with Gibbs following close behind, and Tony bringing up the rear, just to Gibbs’ left. 

There were two rangers present; the one behind the desk looked familiar. He looked up as they entered, greeting Greg with a smile. “Monlatak! Been a long time, man – how the heck are you?” 

Greg shook hands with him and the other ranger who’d come forward. Tony got a look at the first man’s name plate – Torrence. 

The ranger turned to him and Gibbs. “You guys look familiar… been here before?”

Tony nodded. “Several weeks ago, actually… we were the last ones off the mountain before that big storm hit.”

Torrence smiled at him. “I remember that… DC guys, right?”

“That’s right,” Gibbs said. 

There were more hand shakes all around, then Tony spoke up again. “I have to ask… whatever happened to Angela and Justin? You guys were cuffing them as we were leaving.”

Torrence rolled his eyes. “Those too… Angela’s serving three months in county lockup for assault... remember how she slapped another ranger? Justin did a few weeks for interfering. He visits her every day, brings her cat with him.” He eyed their clothing. “You planning to go up the mountain?”

Greg nodded. “Winter hiking – it’s the best.”

“Picked a good time for it. No major storms forecast for the next five days or so at least. There’s a system up in northwest Canada that might get here by the end of next week, so I’d just plan on being back by then.” He moved to a large map on the wall. “Show me where you’re headed.”

Greg and the other ranger followed him. Tony turned to Gibbs. “I’m sorry, Jethro. I know how much you were looking forward to seeing Angela again.” 

Gibbs stared at Tony, his face expressionless. Tony turned away, barely holding back a grin as the expected head slap landed. They watched as Torrence handed Greg a walkie-talkie. The shaman and the rangers conferred for a few more minutes, then Greg came back over their way while Torrence wrote in a notebook. “He says the most we’ll have to worry about is deep cold. Snow pack is pretty good; haven’t gotten any real thawing, so there’s not too much ice formation until you get above tree line, but since that’s further than we’re planning on, we shouldn’t have to worry about it. Trails are easy down this way since a fair number of day-hikers have been out, but by the time we camp this evening, we’ll have to dig out an area for the tents.”

“Dig? With what?”

Greg smiled at Tony. “I’ve got a few lightweight shovels just for that purpose. They attach right on to the packs.”

Torrence joined them while his colleague headed for another part of the station. “You guys all set?” He reached out to shake their hands in response to their nods. “Thanks for giving us a heads up. You wouldn’t believe how many people we have to search for because they don’t check in.” He gestured at the radio. “Don’t hesitate to use that if you’re in trouble. Greg will update us with your location when you make camp. And listen to him,” Torrence said seriously. “He knows what he’s doing up there.”

It was a short drive from the ranger station to the parking lot where they’d set out the last time. They were able to park right next to the trailhead this time; the sun was just starting to come up as they were unloading their gear. Gibbs helped Tony adjust the straps on his pack; Tony got a bit of a flashback to doing the same for the fox. 

Greg walked over to them from his SUV. “Ready?”

Tony made a show of turning toward him stiffly, elbows and knees straight, doing a passable imitation of the movie version of Frankenstein’s monster. “I’m so bundled up I don’t know if I can walk. Why aren’t we taking pack mules, again?”

Greg just laughed and set off for the trail. Gibbs shot him an amused look, then shook his head as he followed Greg. “Not carrying you, Tony.”

Tony sighed and slumped a bit, then broke into an easy jog to catch up. “On your six, Gibbs!”

**Camping**

Tony had to admit that there was a lot to be said for hiking in winter. It was beautiful out there; so quiet it felt as though they’d crossed into another world. It was cold, but the exertion warmed him up. They kept a relatively easy pace, so his breathing wasn’t stressed at all. He took pictures with his cell every time they stopped to rest; he hadn’t seen this much snow in many years, and mostly when he did it was in cities. The snow-covered trees were beautiful, and he enjoyed the crunching sound the snow made under his boots as he walked. 

It wasn’t long before dark when they made it to the same campsite he and Gibbs had used the first night on their previous visit. Gibbs and Greg grabbed the two shovels and started clearing an area for the tents. Tony offered to help, but Gibbs simply ordered him to rest. They had an area cleared and a fire going in what Tony thought had to be record time, and the tents set up soon after that. 

Gibbs distributed self heating meals while they sat next to the fire. They ate silently; Greg heated water for hot chocolate, which tasted wonderful as far as Tony was concerned. Greg asked Gibbs a few questions about his experience as a fox; Tony listened to the answers for a while, then pulled out his steroid inhaler and used it, holding his breath for as long as he could before letting it out slowly. He put the inhaler back in the inner jacket pocket where he was storing it, then looked up to see both Gibbs and Greg watching him, the former looking slightly concerned and the latter a bit angry.

“What the hell was that?”

“What – my inhaler?”

“You have asthma?”

Tony shrugged. “Not most of the time. I got this as a precaution.”

Gibbs looked at Greg. “Tony had pneumonic plague years ago. He’s got to be careful, but he hasn’t had any trouble for a long time now.”

Greg shook his head. “Yeah, and how often is he hiking in near-zero temperatures? Don’t you know cold weather makes a lot of respiratory conditions worse? I wish you’d told me – I would have postponed this until spring.”

Tony shook his head. “Gibbs is right; I haven’t had trouble with my lungs in a long time. And he needs to do this. Waiting a few more months really isn’t an option.”

Greg still looked upset. “I don’t want to be responsible for you having an attack up here.”

“I’ve got rescue inhalers, Greg – I’ll be fine.”

“I sure as hell hope so.”

All three of them fell quiet, staring at the fire. Eventually Greg changed the subject, sharing some of the legends of his people with them. There were no tree spirits, for which Tony was grateful. Gibbs even asked a few questions about Abenaki culture; the discussion continued until the fire was almost out. 

Greg got up and retrieved his shovel from his tent, handing it to Gibbs. “Bury your waste products… don’t want to attract any animals. The bears are hibernating, but there could be some other predators out there.”

Tony had already experienced exposing his private parts to the cold air; it was the worst part of the trip by far. He waited for Gibbs to return with the shovel, then took it and found a likely spot behind a large tree. When he returned to the tents Greg was covering the remains of the fire with snow. 

A short time later he and Gibbs were crawling into their large sleeping bag. Both men were still wearing long underwear, so between that and their combined body heat they quickly stopped shivering. Tony wrapped his arms around Gibbs, who pulled Tony close. They lay there quietly for several minutes, until Tony broke the silence. 

“I kinda feel sorry for Greg, with no warm body to share his tent.”

“You wanna invite him in here?”

“Not that sorry!”

Gibbs chuckled, then fell silent. 

Tony thought about the hike so far, then considered what was still ahead of them. “Think we’ll reach the tree tomorrow?”

Gibbs nodded. “Probably. Likely slower going, since few people are going to camp overnight up here, so no one’s coming this far up. More snow pack to get through.”

Tony nodded, then scooted a little closer to Gibbs as the wind began to pick up and blew against the side of the tent. “Tent won’t blow away, right?”

“I know how to pitch a tent, Tony.”

Tony grinned, picking up on the amused tone in Gibbs’ voice. “Just checking. Maybe if the wind angle is right, we can get blown up the mountain and wake up next to the tree.”

Gibbs huffed out a laugh, then reached up to ruffle Tony’s hair. “Somehow I doubt we’d be that lucky.”

Tony began tracing random patterns on Gibbs’ chest. “You think the spirit will be happy to see you?”

“I haven’t a clue.”

The wind blew again, a bit harder this time, and they could hear the tree branches creaking. 

Tony sat up a bit, immediately regretting exposing himself to the colder air. He burrowed back into the sleeping bag, then started talking. “You don’t think a tree’s going to fall on us, do you? That would kinda suck. What if that happens, and someone’s leg gets broken? You can’t hike with a broken leg.”

Gibbs sighed. “Nothing’s going to fall on us, Tony. And if something did, Greg would use that radio to call the rangers and they’d get a rescue team up here.”

“You do realize you contradicted yourself there, don’t you? And how do you know nothing’s going to fall… what if one of those trees is rotten?”

“I’m sure Greg knows how to spot a rotted out tree trunk.”

They fell quiet again, until the next wind gust. 

“Crap. It’s going to be so cold in the morning. I’m not going to want to get out of this sleeping bag, you know that? How can McBoyScout possible enjoy this?”

“You don’t like sharing a sleeping bag with me?”

“What? No, that’s not what I meant. It’s just, he’s all wanting to go ‘cause he’s got all that experience, but you’d think he’d know better _because_ he’s got all that experience, you know? I mean, why would anyone –“

Gibbs silenced Tony by rolling over on top of him and kissing him deeply. Tony responded immediately, entwining his legs with Gibbs’ and sliding his fingers through the older man’s hair, holding him in place. They continued like that for a while, lips and tongues caressing, sliding against each other, until Tony pulled on Gibbs’ hair to separate them, needing to breathe.

Gibbs dropped his face to Tony’s neck, pressing a kiss to the skin there before pulling back and bit and laying his hand on Tony’s cheek. “You’re going to be fine, Tony. _We’re_ going to be fine.”

Tony turned his head, placing a kiss on Gibbs’ palm. “Yeah,” he agreed. “We are… ‘cause I really want to focus on this, see where it can go.” He was quiet for a moment, then continued, “I really like this, Jethro.”

Gibbs sighed. “Me, too.” He ran his fingers across Tony’s face, over his lips, and into his hair. “I can’t say I ever expected anything like it… but it’s the one thing that makes me glad I was a fox.”

Tony swallowed hard. “Wow.”

“Yeah.” Gibbs chuckled suddenly. “Could you ever have imagined this, back when we first met?”

Tony laughed. “No way. You punched me!”

“You tackled me first.”

“That’s ‘cause you didn’t stop when I told you to. You had no chance, you know.”

“Yeah, yeah – tube socks.”

“Exactly.”

Gibbs slid off to one side, wrapping his arms around Tony and holding him closer. “You’ve made my life better, Tony – as an agent, as a friend, and… well, as whatever you are now.”

Tony turned his face toward Gibbs and closed his eyes. “You did the same for me… you know that, right?”

“Yeah, Tony.”

The wind howled a little louder now, and Tony burrowed further down into the sleeping bag. He felt warm next to Gibbs, and wondered again about Greg, alone in his tent. 

“Get some sleep,” Gibbs said quietly. “Going to be a long day tomorrow.”

Tony dropped a kiss on Gibbs’ shoulder, and, tired out by the long hike, soon fell asleep. Gibbs stayed awake a little longer, thinking about what the next day might bring.


	13. End Point

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Teeny spoiler for the season 2 episode An Eye for An Eye._

**Warning Sign**

Tony stopped for a moment, leaning a bit on one of his poles while he rubbed at his chest. Breathing hard, he watched Greg and Gibbs up ahead as they carefully navigated the rocky slope. Shifting the other pole to his wrist, letting it dangle by the strap, he unzipped his coat enough to dig his rescue inhaler out of an inner pocket. He had to breathe for a bit longer, settling enough to inhale deeply, drawing the medication into his lungs.

The wind hadn’t let up all day. It had felt like a punch to the chest when he’d first left the tent that morning, and now, despite the exertion of the hike, the layers of clothing, and the warmers in his boots and gloves, every breath still felt like a bit of a shock. 

Gibbs had noticed, of course. The older man had told him to rest while he packed up all their belongings, including the tent. He’d slowed the pace when it was apparent by mid-morning that the cold wind was continuing to cause Tony some trouble. Greg had gotten a fair distance ahead before he’d realized the two men had fallen behind; he’d made his way back, apologizing profusely for not noticing right away. They’d taken more rest breaks after that.

Tony felt that he managed alright until they left the trail and headed toward the area where he’d planted the seedling… where Gibbs had turned human again. The trail had been difficult, but it had seen a bit of foot traffic, so the snow was still somewhat packed down. Here, the footing was more treacherous with rocks hidden under the snow, and no trail to speak of. 

Greg was in the lead, breaking the trail, checking in with Gibbs periodically to make sure they were on the right track. Gibbs would turn every so often and look back at Tony, who would smile and wave him on. This time, though, Tony didn’t even try to dissemble, and Gibbs called out to Greg before making his way back to where Tony was still catching his breath.

“You okay, Tony?” he asked, when he reached him.

Tony shrugged. “Inhaler’s taking a bit longer to work, that’s all.”

Gibbs moved so that he was taking the brunt of the wind, shielding Tony as best he could. “How many times have you used it today?”

“This makes three… when I got up this morning, at lunch, and just now.”

Gibbs watched him carefully, waiting until Tony’s breathing quieted down and the younger man straightened up. 

“Good to go, Boss.”

Gibbs smiled slightly. “Not your boss right now, Tony.”

“Good to go, Leroy.”

Gibbs rolled his eyes and popped Tony on the back of the head. 

“Ow… hey. You know, between the gloves and the balaclavy thing and the hat, I barely felt that. Maybe I should wear this getup at work.”

Gibbs stepped on one side, motioning for Tony to go ahead of him. Tony glanced over to see Greg waiting patiently.

“Not much further now, huh?”

Gibbs shook his head. “Nope. We’re making better time than I’d expected. Should get to set up the tents before it gets dark.” He reached out, squeezing Tony’s arm before waving again toward Greg. “Go on, Tony… I’ve got your six.”

“Thanks, Jethro.” Tony met Gibbs’ gaze for a second, then set out, keeping his eyes on the ground and trying to ignore the remaining tightness in his chest.

**Waking Up**

Gibbs lay quietly in the sleeping bag, thinking back over the evening before while he watched Tony sleep in the dim morning light. 

He’d been overly optimistic about the timing; they’d had to put the tents up while Tony sat on a nearby rock, shining a flashlight for them. Moonlight had helped a bit, although the clear sky signaled a more bitter cold. 

He smiled to himself as he remembered walking past the tree, carrying a faint hope that the spirit wasn’t there anymore. _Not much sense to that_ , he thought, _why go to all the trouble to get back if it was just gonna leave again?_ He hadn’t seen much of the tree, paying too much attention to where he was stepping, but he could remember a feeling of presence. 

Thoughts of the spirit faded as Tony shifted in his sleep, moving closer to Gibbs, who wrapped his arms around him and closed his eyes. _Shouldn’t have let him come. Cold’s getting to his lungs._ Gibbs had to admit, though, that he felt better knowing Tony was here, despite the danger. He thought back to his conversation with Ducky before he left. 

_“Anthony came to see me, Jethro… I gave him a prescription for an inhaler to supplement what he already carries.”_

_“I thought his lungs were good. They haven’t given him trouble for a long time.”_

_“True, true… but given the higher altitude, the physical exertion, and the cold temperatures, it’s best to take some precautions.”_

_“Maybe he shouldn’t go.”_

_“It would certainly be best for his health if he did not… but I don’t see him staying behind willingly.”_

_“I could put this off, go in the spring.”_

_Ducky looked at him seriously, and slowly shook his head. “No, my boy, I don’t think you can. You are caught up in a strange situation that requires resolution, the sooner, the better.”_

_“So how do I help him?”_

_“Make sure he uses his inhalers as he needs them. And here –“ Ducky held up a yellow box, opening it to slide a yellow and clear tube onto his hand. “- this is an epipen. It has epinephrine in it, which will open up his breathing tubes and counteract a severe attack. He demonstrated how to use the device, miming injecting it into his thigh. “Simple to use, and highly effective. There are two in the box.”_

_“He didn’t take one?”_

_Ducky shook his head. “He hasn’t wanted to in the past, and to be fair he’s never needed one. I feel it’s best to be prepared, though.”_

_Gibbs nodded and took the box after Ducky replaced the tube. That night, he’d hidden it in his backpack when Tony wasn’t in the room._

Gibbs opened his eyes and glanced over at his pack, where the epipens were secure in a zippered pocket. _Maybe I should tell Tony I have them… might make him feel better._

Tony stirred, groaning slightly as he shifted closer to Gibbs. “Wha’ time’s it?”

“Not too early… a little after 8, I think.”

“Cold.”

“Yup. We’re more than halfway up Mount Washington in winter. Were you expecting a tropical paradise?”

“Ha, ha.” Tony half-heartedly smacked Gibbs’ arm. “Why didn’t you wake me up sooner?”

“No need. Haven’t heard Greg moving around out there yet – figure he can be the one to get a fire going. Higher the sun gets, warmer it’ll be out there anyway.”

They lay quietly for a moment, until Tony spoke again. “Wind’s stopped.”

“Mmm hmm.”

Tony shifted even closer, pressing the length of his body against Gibbs’. “Have to say I’m really glad we started this before coming up here. Can you imagine the awkwardness if we’d tried to share a sleeping bag otherwise?”

Gibbs grinned. “You’d get past that quickly enough if you got too cold.”

“You’re probably right.”

They lay there a while longer, sharing body heat and dozing off until they could hear Greg moving around outside. Gibbs sighed and gave Tony a quick kiss on the lips before he crawled out of the bag. “Stay warm in here. I’ll bring you some breakfast.”

Tony pulled the thick sleeping bag over his head, but popped back out a moment later. “Gonna have to go pee.”

Gibbs paused as he layered on another shirt, then reached into his pack to grab a plastic bag and give it to Tony, who took it and looked at it strangely before nodding. 

“What?” Gibbs asked, looking at the expression on his face.

“Just… Kate. Remember, on that transport to Paraguay?”

Gibbs smiled briefly. “Yeah. I remember.”

He finished getting dressed and headed for the zippered door as Tony reached for his steroid inhaler. “Hey,” he said softly, causing Tony to look at him. “How’s your breathing?”

Tony shrugged. “Tight. But I’m okay.”

Gibbs inclined his head, then opened the door just enough to step out quickly and close it up, trapping as much heat as possible inside. He shivered as he looked at the small fire Greg was tending; the wind may have stopped, but the temperature had dropped significantly.

**The Tree**

The three men stood at the base of the huge tree, looking up.

“How big did you say it was when you planted it?” Greg asked.

Tony held out his hands, a little less than a foot apart. 

“And that was just a few weeks ago?”

“Yup,” Gibbs said, still looking up.

“All right, then,” Greg muttered. He took a deep breath, then stepped forward, laying his hand on the trunk and closing his eyes. 

Gibbs and Tony watched and waited; several minutes passed before Greg opened his eyes, lowered his hand, and stepped back. He exhaled slowly, then turned to look at them. “It’s there, alright. I have no idea what it is… it’s not like any of the stories I’ve heard.”

Tony started to ask what he meant, but began coughing before he could voice the question. Gibbs turned to him, watching him closely until Tony stopped, unzipping his coat to reach for his inhaler. “I’m okay,” he said, although his voice was weak. 

Gibbs turned back to Greg, wanting to avoid staring at Tony while he took the meds. “So, what now?”

“Try to communicate. I have a few ideas about that… are you willing to help?”

“That’s why I’m here, isn’t it?”

Greg smiled and started to speak, but his gaze shifted behind Gibbs and his eyes widened. 

Gibbs whirled around to see Tony swaying, the inhaler dropping to the ground. “Boss… don’t… feel so… good.” Tony reached for Gibbs, who was reaching for him at the same time; neither one was in time to keep Tony from falling to his knees. 

Gibbs was immediately on the ground next to him, one arm around his shoulders, the other hand grabbing the inhaler and pushing it into Tony’s hand. He was vaguely aware of Greg on Tony’s other side. “Tony, here… use this.”

Tony was gasping for breath, his eyes losing focus. He tried to grab the inhaler, but his movements were uncoordinated. Gibbs pulled him closer and looked at Greg, whose panicked reaction wasn’t helping.

“Shit! He’s going into anaphylaxis – no way he can breathe well enough to use that inhaler… what do we do?!”

Gibbs sat in the snow, pulling Tony into his arms, holding him tightly. “My pack, in the tent. Zippered pocket on the left side, yellow box with epipens in it. Get it for me.”

Greg was gone in a flash. Gibbs leaned his forehead against Tony’s hair. “You still don’t have permission to die, Tony. You _never_ have permission to die. Got that?”

Tony nodded weakly, clutching at Gibbs coat. Gibbs grabbed his hand, pulling it to his chest. “You’re gonna be okay. Ducky gave me epipens to carry for you. Greg’s getting one now. Just hang on.”

Greg came running back, epipen in hand. Gibbs gestured at it with his chin. “Know how to use that?”

Greg nodded, pulling off the blue piece on the end before dropping to Tony’s side. He rubbed a spot on Tony’s thigh, then pushed the orange end hard against Tony’s leg. 

Gibbs stared at the tube in Greg’s hand. Tony was still gasping for breath. Greg’s brow furrowed. “It’s supposed to click. It didn’t click!” He pulled it away, shaking the tube, then jammed it into Tony’s thigh again. 

Nothing.

“Damn it!” Greg dropped the tube into the snow, running back to the tent to get the second one. 

Gibbs felt the first signs of panic. “Tony, take it easy, just breathe. Greg’s getting the other one, that’ll work, it has to...” He held on, staring in Greg’s direction as the shaman came running back.

He repeated the process, but again there was no click, no change in Tony’s breathing, except for the worse as there was now a distinct rattle to it. Tony’s lips were turning blue; his eyes were closed.

Greg stared at Gibbs, eyes wide. “Must be the cold – they’ve frozen up, or something. What do we do now?”

Gibbs stared at him, then suddenly turned to look at the tree. “Damn you,” he growled. “You can turn me into a fox, you can fix this.”

He gently handed Tony off to Greg, who kept him propped up. Gibbs then stalked up to the tree, his earlier hesitation forgotten. Smacking both hands on the trunk, he looked up and yelled at the spirit hiding inside. “You fix him, damn it! We’re here because of you, we did what you wanted! Now help him!”

Gibbs felt a vague sense of _something_ under his hands, as if the bark moved, but there was no movement to see. He snarled his fear and frustration, looking around and spotting a large fallen branch several yards away, under another tree. He ran to it, grabbing it and holding it like a bat, then charged the tree, swinging the branch at it, hitting the trunk with a resounding crack. “Wake up! WAKE UP! You help Tony, or I swear I’ll burn this tree to the ground!”

He swung the branch again, as hard as he could. It shattered against the trunk, leaving a gouge of damaged bark behind.

Greg was suddenly next to him, his hand on the trunk. Gibbs looked over at Tony, now lying in the snow. He could see the labored rise and fall of his chest. “Fight, Tony,” he whispered, “you fight this.”

Greg looked at Gibbs. “It’s awake, but it doesn’t understand. It recognizes you, at least I think it does.” He hesitated, then looked back at Tony, then at Gibbs. “Gibbs… I think you’re the only one who can explain.”

“That’s what I’ve been doing!”

Greg shook his head. “You’ve been attacking – no, I get it, I do, I don’t blame you, no one would – I think you have to be the fox.”

Gibbs stared at him. “How the _HELL_ am I supposed to do that?”

Greg shook his head. “Believe me, if I knew for sure, I’d tell you. I think… I think you’ve had the ability all along. I think that’s what the dreams were telling you. You just… have to want it badly enough, I guess. It’s there, in your subconscious, how to do it – you just need the will to do it.” He looked back at Tony, who was barely breathing at all now. 

Gibbs ran to Tony, dropping to his knees. He grabbed the unconscious man’s hand. “Tony, don’t you dare leave. I can’t… I don’t want to do any of this without you. Need you on my six.” He swallowed hard, then closed his eyes and thought back over the memories he’d tried so hard to suppress before. _What it felt like, when he woke up under the boat, being the fox… past the fear and the confusion, having a tail, four legs, the sounds and smells… feeling free to curl up with Tony, playing with him… running together in the woods in their shared dreams…_

It hurt.

He’d been out of it the first two times he’d changed. Now he was aware of the shifts in his body, the reshaping and shrinking… damn, it hurt.

Seconds later, the pain was gone, and he was enveloped in a mountain of layered winter clothing. He could tell Greg was there, helping to dig him out. Moments later, the silver fox stared at Tony and whined, then bounded over to the tree, leaping at it to place both front paws on the trunk, emitting a heart-breaking sound, a cross between a howl and a snarl.

_recognition/welcome/happy/puzzled_

Gibbs wasn’t sure how he communicated with the spirit. He poured all the fear and love he had for Tony into his silent request for help. It was easier to ask than to demand, in this form.

_confusion/concern/understanding/agreement_

Gibbs backed away on all four feet, staring as the tree trunk seemed to shimmer and then suddenly the spirit was there, separate from the tree, looking just as it had in Gibbs’ dreams… an elongated, white form, long branch-like fingers, narrow face, easily twice Gibbs’ human size, reaching out and down, those long fingers caressing Tony’s chest.

There was another shimmer in the air, around Tony’s body, and then suddenly he began to change, shifting and shrinking until he too disappeared into a mound of clothes. 

Gibbs didn’t remember becoming human again; all he knew was he was kneeling in the snow next to Greg, digging through the layers until he had a beautiful red fox in his arms. 

Tony’s ears and eyes were outlined in black. His legs and feet were black, as was much of his tail, which ended in a white tip. The underside of his neck was also white. Gibbs noted all of that in passing;, what grabbed his attention the most, though, was the fact that the fox was breathing easily.

It took him a moment to realize Greg was tugging at his arm and saying something.

“What?”

“You’re naked in sub-zero weather, Gibbs. We’ve got to get you in the tent. Take Tony, I’ll bring your clothes.”

Gibbs got to his feet; he glanced around, but there was no sign of the spirit. Moving quickly, he made it into the tent, with Greg right behind him. Gibbs laid the fox gently down on top of the sleeping bag, then grabbed the clothes from Greg and made quick work of putting them back on. He was just zipping up his coat when Tony’s eyes opened and he looked up at Gibbs, his eyes a more brilliant green than usual against the red fur. 

**The Fox**

Tony’s mouth opened; he gave voice to a growling squeak. His eyes widened, and he stared at Gibbs before turning his head to look down at himself. A startled yip escaped his mouth; he looked back up at Gibbs, eyes huge. 

Gibbs cleared his throat. “You were dying, Tony. The epipens didn’t work… guess they can’t take the cold. I didn’t know. Tried to get the spirit to help.”

Greg took over, talking to the fox as if he were still a man. “You should have seen him, Tony. He charged that tree, beat it up and threatened to burn it down.”

Tony blinked, then gave a questioning whine. Gibbs chuckled. “You beat up a tree by hitting it with a large branch.”

Greg gave him a strange look. “The spirit recognized him, but it didn’t understand what was happening… not until Gibbs turned back into the fox and could explain.”

Tony stared at Gibbs, his ears going sideways. Gibbs shook his head. “I did it myself. Not entirely sure how… guess I turned back on my own too.” He glanced at Greg, who nodded absently, looking between the two of them with a fascinated expression. “The spirit came out of the tree and touched you… and now you’re a fox.”

Tony made a sound like a grunt, then sighed happily as he relaxed back into sleeping bag. Gibbs realized he’d been petting the fox the whole time. Smiling, he reached up to scratch Tony behind the ears. Tony made a groaning noise and stretched, pressing his head against Gibbs’ hand before he suddenly turned over and got to his feet.

Gibbs drew back, remembering how much trouble he’d had trying to coordinate four legs. It didn’t take Tony nearly as long. Within just a few minutes, he was bounding around the tent, eyes practically glowing with excitement. 

“Show off,” Gibbs muttered, trying and failing to keep a grin off his face.

Tony leapt into Gibbs’ lap, showering his face with licks before he jumped off again and pawed at the tent door. Greg leaned over and opened it; the fox jumped through and took off running through the snow.

The two men followed him out, watching as Tony jumped on and off rocks, even charged the tree, leaping up and pushing off with all four feet. 

Greg shook his head. “Guess he’s feeling better.” He turned to look at Gibbs. “You understood everything he was trying to say, didn’t you?”

Gibbs smiled. “We’ve always understood each other.”

Greg returned the smile, which faded quickly. “I’m thankful he’s alright.”

Gibbs nodded. “Me too,” he whispered, watching as Tony continued to run. 

Greg went back to where Tony had been collapsed only a short time before. He picked up the pile of clothes and the epipens, then carried them back to the tent. Gibbs followed him in, taking the tubes and putting them back in the box, which he found lying on the ground. “Should have kept them in my jacket,” he said softly.

“You didn’t know.”

Gibbs nodded, then suddenly pitched forward as he was hit from behind by a furry red missile. 

He turned to look down at Tony, who stared up at him then barked sharply.

Gibbs tilted his head. “You’re not cold?”

The fox shook his head vehemently, then barked again. Gibbs looked over at Greg, who shrugged. “Won’t bother me if you want to go for a run. I can try talking to the spirit again.”

Gibbs took a deep breath, then quickly shed his clothes. He closed his eyes, willing the change again, opening them a few moments later to the realization that it didn’t hurt so much this time. 

Tony moved forward, touching his nose to Gibbs’ before he turned and bounded out of the tent, Gibbs following close behind. Silver and red were running neck and neck, heading for the trees while the shaman stood in front of the tent and watched them go.


	14. Freedom

**Play**

Tony hadn’t experienced a high like this since he’d played sports in college. He felt as though he had unlimited energy as he bounded through the snow; his legs were like springs. His tail moved easily, naturally, helping him balance as he made sharp turns, dodging through trees, with Gibbs close behind. 

A glance to the side showed the silver fox’s nose even with Tony’s shoulder. The red fox slowed just a bit, so they were running neck and neck. 

They reached a large rock outcropping and scrambled up to sit at the top and look out over the mountain range. Both foxes were breathing easily, despite the long run; Tony closed his eyes for a moment, reveling in the lack of tightness in his chest. 

He opened his eyes and turned to see Gibbs looking at him closely. Their eyes met, and for several seconds they just stared at each other. Tony registered the minute muscle twitches, movements of Gibbs ears and the skin around his eyes, and realized he was just on the edge of understanding exactly what they meant. _We’ll have to practice… assuming I can do what he did, and become a fox whenever I want._

A low whine came from Gibbs’ throat; the silver fox leaned over, resting his head on Tony’s shoulders. Tony sighed and leaned in to the touch. _I’m okay, Gibbs_ , he thought, feeling his own ears and facial muscles twitch. Feeling slightly frustrated by the inability to speak, Tony shifted around and nuzzled into Gibbs’ neck. Gibbs turned his head and sniffed Tony’s face, licked the short fur covering Tony’s muzzle, then snorted loudly in Tony’s ear. 

Tony gave voice to a startled yip, then leapt backwards off the rock, and dropped into a play bow, tail waving gently. Gibbs stared at him, then stretched, yawned, and sat back down, facing Tony and curling his tail around his legs. 

Tony charged the rock, then backed up, growling and barking at Gibbs, who cocked his head to one side and continued to stare. The red fox stared back, whined, then took off running, doing laps around some of the neighboring trees before charging the rock again, jumping up and nose-punching the silver fox in the side. 

Gibbs rumbled deep in his throat. Tony stood there, tongue lolling out of his mouth, then stepped forward, staring at Gibbs. Their eyes met for a long moment; Tony’s ears pinned back, then straightened up as he gleefully nose-punched Gibbs again, this time in the shoulder, before he took off running.

Gibbs growled and stood, waiting for Tony to slow and look back before leaping off the rock and running after him. The foxes run through the trees, Gibbs only just missing grabbing Tony by the tail, until they finally slowed near the campsite. 

Greg was sitting next to the tree, his hand on the bark. As far as the foxes could tell, he wasn’t moving or speaking. They glanced at each other; Gibbs’ ears moved back and he butted Tony gently with the top of his head before trotting over to the shaman with Tony close behind. 

**Communication**

The foxes sat in the snow near the tree, facing Greg. It didn’t take long for their presence to register; he opened his eyes and let his hand fall from the bark.

“Hi, guys… Tony, you feeling okay?”

Tony nodded, exaggerating the move to make sure he was understood. 

Greg let out a long breath. “Good. I figured you guys were having fun.”

Tony nodded again, then glanced at Gibbs, who shot him an amused look.

“Gibbs… do you think you could talk to the spirit again? Sort of, I don’t know, introduce me? I’m having a hard time getting through to it.”

Gibbs tilted his head, his eyes moving from Greg to the tree and then back. He looked at Tony, who returned the gaze, trying to convey that he was on Gibbs’ six no matter what. Gibbs moved to the tree, then, as he had when Tony was dying, placed both front feet on the trunk and barked.

_welcome/pleased/friend_

Gibbs wasn’t quite sure how he did it, or how he was able to understand the thought-feelings from the spirit, but he turned to look at Tony, voicing an inquiring whine.

Tony moved forward and mimicked Gibbs’ posture, trying to convey his thanks to the spirit.

_happy/pack/connected_

Both foxes tried to explain who Greg was and why they were there; they weren’t entirely sure they got it all across, but the response from the spirit seemed to indicate they were at least partly successful.

_understand/spirit-man/seeker_

The foxes backed away; Gibbs nudged Greg’s arm with his nose, trying to get him to touch the tree again. Greg did; his eyes widened and he inhaled sharply before turning to place both hands on the trunk and sinking into a meditative state.

Gibbs turned to look at Tony, then nudged him softly before heading toward their tent. They found the door partially open, just enough for them to squeeze in. Gibbs moved to sit on the sleeping bag, closed his eyes, and thought about being human again. The shift was quick and even less painful than the last one. He opened his eyes to see Tony still in fox form, watching him carefully.

“Did I look like some weird cross between a human and a fox?”

Tony shook his head slowly, then closed his own eyes. Gibbs tried to watch the change, but there seemed to be some sort of trick of light involved; he was able to see a vague shifting of form, but not the details… and then Tony was sitting in front of him, a slightly startled expression on his face. 

“That didn’t hurt nearly as much as I expected!”

Gibbs grinned at him and then zipped the door completely closed and looked for his clothes. “We better get dressed before we get frostbite.”

Several minutes later, both men were insulated against the cold. Gibbs looked at Tony, reaching out to swat him very gently on the head. 

“Boss?”

“Don’t scare me like again - ever.”

Tony smiled ruefully. “Believe me, no way I want to go through that again.”

Gibbs returned the smile. “I’m just glad you’re alright.”

“Me too.”

“Maybe you should go back down the mountain as a fox.”

Tony looked around the tent. “Not a bad idea… but carrying two packs might be a bit much, even for you. How about I plan on changing if I need to?”

Gibbs thought about that. “Gotta prove you can, first.”

Tony blinked at that. “Yeah, I guess so.” He looked at Gibbs, his face a study in consternation. “You think that was all I got, that one shot?”

“You liked it that much?”

“Being a fox? Yeah. Being a fox with you? Absolutely.”

Gibbs smiled. “Was fun.”

“Yes, yes it was.”

They sat there looking at each other. Tony grinned suddenly. “Let’s surprise Abby when we get home… assuming I can still do it, I mean.”

Gibbs started to reply, but was interrupted by a sharp cry coming from somewhere above the tent. Both men moved quickly to the door and stepped out – there was no sign of Greg at the tree, except for a pile of clothes. 

The cry came again, and they looked up to see a large hawk gliding through the air above them. It circled a few times, then dived toward them, skimming just over their heads as it called again before gaining altitude and flying high above the mountain. 

Gibbs grinned as he watched, then turned to Tony, who was laughing in delight. “Guess we all got what we wanted.”

Tony smiled at him. “Guess so.” He leaned in close, dropping a quick kiss on Gibbs’ lips before heading back to the tent. “You hungry? I’m starving. It’s way past lunch time.”

Gibbs laughed quietly and followed him.

**Campfire**

After lunch they moved Greg’s clothes into his tent, leaving the door unzipped so he could get back in and get dressed with some protection from the elements. Greg spent most of the rest of the day perched in the tree. Tony was eager to test his ability to become the fox again... it worked. This time he was happy to stay in the tent with a still-human Gibbs, curled up in his lap while Gibbs read a book he’d stuffed in his pack.

It was late afternoon, almost dark when Greg called out to them. “Guys? I’ve got a fire going if you want to talk things over.”

Gibbs put the book down while Tony stretched and moved away before shifting back into human form. A short time later they joined Greg where he was feeding the fire. 

Tony moved close, holding out his gloved hands and sighing happily as the warmth penetrated the layers. “Being the fox is great in this weather.” He looked at Greg, who seemed a lot calmer than he had over the past several days. “What’s it like? Flying, I mean.”

Greg paused, sticks in hand, his eyes going distant. “Most amazing thing I’ve ever experienced.” He was silent for a moment, then shook himself and looked over at them. “I can’t thank you enough. The ability to change has been lost over time; now I can bring it back to the people.”

Gibbs settled in next to the fire, tossing an MRE to Greg, who dropped the sticks to catch it, and handing one off to Tony. “Spirit told you how to do it?”

“Told isn’t really the right word… it was more like a combination of impressions and images. I think it’s sort of like psychic communication… or at least what I imagine that to be.”

“So you know what it is, now?”

“Not exactly.” He shook his head. “It’s going to take a long time to really understand each other. It seems to be very, very old… if I had to guess, I’d say it might actually be one of the monsters Koluscap was supposed to have defeated.”

They were all silent for a while, until Tony opened his MRE and cleared his throat. “It seemed, I dunno, happy to see us again?”

Greg nodded. “It seems to have grown attached to you both while it was with you. I got an impression that it enjoys your company.”

Tony glanced at Gibbs, who was staring into the fire. “So… it’s not looking to control Gibbs in any way? As a fox, or as a human?”

Greg shook his head. “I didn’t get that impression at all. It doesn’t really have much use for us, not in its day to day existence, anyway. Turning Jethro into the fox was a means to an end.”

Tony shifted a little on the rock where he was sitting. “Why did it help me?”

“I’m not sure, really. Maybe because it likes you, or because it likes Jethro. Maybe it has something to do with the connection between the two of you.”

Gibbs scraped the last of his food out of his MRE. He stared in the direction of the tree, then took his flashlight out of a coat pocket, switched it on, and got to his feet. “Be right back.”

Tony moved to follow, then caught himself and sat back down. Greg watched Gibbs with interest. “What’s he doing?”

“Gonna try to talk to it, I think.”

They could just make out Gibbs in the dark, standing next to the bulk of the tree.

Greg opened his MRE, turning toward Tony while he waited for it to heat. “He seems more relaxed than he’s been since I met you guys.”

Tony nodded. “Being able to control the change into a fox should get rid of a lot of his concerns. That, and the fact that he doesn’t think the spirit is messing with his head anymore.”

Greg nodded. “Good. I’m glad I could help.”

Tony kept his gaze focused in Gibbs’ direction. “Any idea about the shared dreams?”

“No… not yet, anyway.” Greg noted the slight slump in Tony’s shoulders. “If I had to guess, I’d say the spirit strengthened a connection between the two of you, one that was already there, but was limited.”

Tony turned towards him, puzzled. “I don’t understand.”

“Neither do I really. But look at what you guys do – you have entire conversations without saying a word. Jethro understood you when you were a fox and he was human. You tend to move as one, did you know that? Even before you became a fox.”

Tony smiled slightly. “We’ve been working together for a long time now. Over ten years.”

Greg laughed. “It’s more than that, and you know it.”

Tony’s smile changed to a full blown grin. “Yeah, well… that’s still pretty new.”

Greg turned his attention to his dinner. Tony stayed silent, watching what he could see of Gibbs, wondering how long he should wait before he joined him. He waited until Greg finished eating before continuing the conversation. “What’s next for you?”

Greg took a plastic bag out of a pocket and began loading all the trash into it. “I’ll head back to my uncle’s place when we leave here. I’ll show him what I’ve learned, and we’ll probably take a few more people we know we can trust and bring them back here.”

“You think the spirit will be okay with that?”

“I do, actually. It seems to be interested in us now, at least a bit.”

Gibbs made his way back to the fire. Tony sat forward. “You learn anything?”

“A little.” He warmed himself a bit, then glanced at Tony. “Could probably get more as a fox.”

“Try in the morning?”

Gibbs hesitated, then smiled. “Yeah, we can do that.”

“If we get up early enough,” Greg spoke up, “we can each try to communicate with the spirit, then head back down the mountain. Camp where we did before, get back to the ranger station around midday after that.” He looked at each of them. “Assuming you don’t want to stay longer.”

Gibbs and Tony shared a long look; Tony shook his head, smiling. Gibbs returned the smile, then looked at Greg. “Would like to, but no… too cold. We’ll plan on coming back, though.”

Greg smiled. “That’s great.” He looked around the campsite. “Time to turn in?”

Gibbs nodded. “Want help with the fire?”

“I got it. You guys have a good night.” Greg tied the trash bag closed, then picked up the shovel and begin putting out the fire, while Gibbs and Tony returned to their tent.

**Truths**

It didn’t take long for Tony and Gibbs to get undressed and curl up in the shared sleeping bag. Tony shivered slightly, moving closer to Gibbs for warmth. Gibbs gathered him into his arms, resting his head against Tony’s.

“You still feeling okay?”

“Yeah. Surprisingly so. Not that I’m complaining.”

Gibbs’ arms tightened around him. “Me neither.”

Tony buried his face in Gibbs’ neck, inhaling deeply. “What did you find out from the spirit?”

Gibbs cleared his throat. “Tried to ask about the shared dreams.”

Tony waited for a moment, but when Gibbs wasn’t forthcoming, he spoke up. “I asked Greg about those.”

“Yeah?”

“Uh huh. He said he thinks the spirit just, um, enhanced a connection we already had.”

When Gibbs spoke again, he was so quiet Tony had to pay close attention. “Connection, souls, love.”

“Huh?”

Gibbs cleared his throat. “Closest I can come to what I got from the spirit… connection, souls, love.”

Tony’s heart started beating a little faster. “It, uh, it seems to think in threes, doesn’t it?”

Gibbs chuckled quietly. “Yeah, I guess it does.”

They were both quiet for so long that Tony thought maybe Gibbs had fallen asleep. He spoke quietly, “It’s right, isn’t it?”

Gibbs propped himself up on one elbow, moving his free hand to Tony’s face. He leaned in, kissing Tony slowly, with more gentleness than Tony could have anticipated. When he finally pulled back, Tony was light-headed with emotion. 

“Yeah, Tony, it’s right. I’ve loved you for a long time.”

Tony ran his hand along Gibbs’ chest, up to his neck and then the back of his head, pulling him in for another kiss. “Same here,” he said, after a few minutes. “Don’t know that I’d have called it romantic love until recently… but I’d have died for you without a second thought within a month of us starting to work together.”

Gibbs settled back down into the sleeping bag, pulling Tony close. “You and me, Tony. We’ll figure it all out after we get back home.”

Tony moved closer, basking in the shared body heat. “Home. That sounds awfully good right about now.”

“Mmm hmm. Sleep well.” Gibbs’ voice was fading fast. 

Tony wasn’t sure if he managed to reply before he fell asleep. 

_The two foxes lay together on the large rock, silver and red pressed together for warmth, blue and green gazing out at the mountain range, visible under the full moon and brilliant stars. The spirit stood off to one side, watching over them and the mountain it protected._


	15. Going Home

**Parting in the Parking Lot**

Tony leaned back against the side of Gibbs’ truck, closing his eyes and turning his face to the sun. It had felt like a long trip back, and he was truly relaxed for the first time in days. 

They’d all shifted again, back up on the mountain, to say their goodbyes to the spirit. Greg had perched in the tree for a while, in hawk form, then taken off, flying in a widening spiral above the tree until he’d headed off for one more longer flight before leaving. Tony had been next, sitting back on his haunches with his front paws on the trunk, trying to convey his thanks for Gibbs’ freedom and his own life. He’d gotten a series of impressions or images from the spirit, much like Greg had described when he’d talked about becoming the hawk the first time… the most coherence he could wring out of them was _friend/happy/bond/return_. So much for his idea that the spirit communicated in threes. 

Tony had backed away, leaving Gibbs to his own communion with the spirit. The silver fox was still there, paw on the bark, when Greg returned, landing next to his tent and awkwardly making his way inside in his hawk form. Tony waited for Gibbs by their tent; after a few more minutes Gibbs had backed away, barked once to the spirit, then trotted over to the Tony and the tent. 

They’d gone inside to shift back and get dressed. Gibbs had been quiet; Tony respected his silence and worked on packing up their gear, until Gibbs’ arms came around him from behind. Tony leaned back against the older man, who rested his forehead on Tony’s shoulder for a moment, before whispering, “Care, protect, love.”

Tony had smiled. “That what the spirit said to you?”

“Yeah.”

“I got friend, happy, bond, return.” He’d thought about it for a moment. “Did you ask about the dreams?” 

Gibbs had tightened his arms for a moment, then let go. Tony had turned to face him. “Yeah, I did… wanna think for a bit.”

They’d finished packing everything up and headed back down the mountain, after Tony had taken a few pictures of the tree its surroundings with his phone, as many as he could before the battery finally died. They’d made their way back, carefully, going slowly for the sake of Tony’s lungs.

Tony blinked his eyes open and looked toward Greg’s SUV, where he and Gibbs were talking quietly. He stretched a bit, then let his head fall back and closed his eyes, reveling in the relative warmth of the sun on his face.

The rest of the trip down had been uneventful. Tony never had any trouble with his lungs, although the wind had stopped and the sun seemed warmer, so he thought maybe that was why. They’d camped in the same spot they had on the way up; Tony’s experiences up on the mountain must have caught up with him, because he’d fallen asleep before Gibbs had joined him in the sleeping bag.

And now it was mid-afternoon; they’d piled into Greg’s SUV to return to the ranger station and say their goodbyes, then returned to the parking lot to pick up the truck and part ways. Greg was heading to Vermont to see his uncle and share their experiences; Tony and Gibbs had decided to take it easy for once and stay at the motel nearby, setting out for DC early the next morning. 

Tony could hear footsteps on the gravel. He opened his eyes and straightened up as Gibbs and the shaman approached. “Ready to go?” he asked Greg.

Greg nodded. “Part of me wants to go right back up that mountain.” He smiled ruefully. “There’s so much to learn… but Rick said there’s another storm heading this way, so it’s really best to wait for spring.”

“Rick?”

“Yeah… Ranger Torrence? His first name is Rick. That was his daughter, Rikki, at the motel the other morning.”

Tony grinned. “Ranger Rick? Really?”

Greg huffed out a laugh. “Yes, really. He used to go to elementary schools in the area, kids loved it.”

Gibbs looked puzzled. Tony explained, “Ranger Rick… kids’ nature magazine. We used to read it in school.”

Gibbs expression cleared; he smiled slightly. “I remember… Kelly had a subscription.”

Tony reached out and laid a hand on Gibbs’ shoulder. “I must have been talking to the other guy when Ranger Rick told you about the storm… gonna stop us from heading out in the morning?”

Gibbs shook his head. “Not supposed to start until mid-afternoon. We should be fine.”

Greg gave Tony a searching look. “You still breathing okay?”

“Yeah, fine, actually. Kinda surprised, but I’ll take it.”

Greg turned to Gibbs, holding out his hand to shake. “I’m gonna head out… thank you guys so much for letting me help out – hell of an experience. Life-changing, you know?”

Gibbs laughed. “Yeah, I think I have some idea.”

Greg grinned at him, then turned to Tony, shaking his hand too. “Keep me posted about those dreams… just if you still have them. I don’t need details, unless you want to share or need my expert advice.”

Tony rolled his eyes, then suddenly pulled Greg forward into a quick hug. “Thanks for having our backs up there.”

Greg nodded as he pulled away. “Of course. Think you guys will come back?”

Tony looked at Gibbs, who looked up at the mountain. “Yeah,” the older man said, slowly, “I think so.”

Greg smiled at that. “Be happy to come with, if you guys want the company.” He backed away, then turned toward his car. “Say hi to Abby for me! Tell her I’ll be in touch as soon as I get back to DC!”

Tony waved, Gibbs nodded, and they watched as Greg got in his SUV and drove out of the lot. 

Gibbs turned to look at Tony. “Ready?”

Tony nodded. “On your six, Jethro.”

**The Motel Room**

Tony collapsed backwards onto the queen-size bed in the motel room. “I ate too much,” he groaned.

Gibbs smiled at him as he took off his jacket. “Diner food’s pretty good after the MRE’s, huh?”

Tony raised his head to look at him and then let it thunk back down onto the pillow. “Just a bit.”

“MRE’s aren’t _that_ bad,” Gibbs protested.

Tony held out his hand. “Get over here. You’re too far away.”

Gibbs snorted but moved forward to take Tony’s hand and sit on the bed when Tony moved over to make room for him. “Bed’s gonna seem awfully big after that sleeping bag.”

Tony giggled a bit. 

Gibbs smiled. “You get drunk on food, Tony?”

“Must’ve been the chocolate milkshake.”

Gibbs lay down, squeezing Tony’s hand. “You breathing okay?”

Tony nodded. “No problemo. I’m fine.” He lay quietly for a few minutes, his thumb caressing the back of Gibbs’ hand. “You think…” He hesitated, then continued. “You think we can still be foxes?” 

Gibbs shrugged. “Don’t see why not.”

Tony turned his head and met his gaze. “Wanna try it out?”

“Now?”

“Don’t see why not.” Tony grinned, then turned serious. “I was thinking we should try to shift back and forth… one at a time. That way, if one of us can’t turn human again, we can go back up the mountain and get help.”

“You gonna be okay if you can’t be a fox?”

Tony nodded. “I’ll be fine. It’s wonderful to be the fox, but I’m sure in the long run I’m happier being human.”

“Wanna go first?”

Tony got up and went to the window, closing the heavy curtains and shutting out the fading light. Gibbs switched on the lamp next to the bed, watching as Tony took his clothes off, winking at Gibbs before closing his eyes and concentrating. 

There was the familiar shimmer and glow in the air, and seconds later Gibbs had an armful of happily wriggling red fox. 

“Hey,” he greeted Tony, smiling into the excited green eyes. 

Tony leaned in and snuffed his neck, licking him once before bounding out of his arms and trotting around the room. He looked back at Gibbs, his tail waving in the air; the movement caught his eye, and he stared at it for a moment before playfully snapping at it, whipping it away from his own teeth just in time. The next thing Gibbs knew, he was laughing harder than he had in years, watching Tony chasing his tail in circles. The red fox moved so fast he finally stumbled into the dresser; Gibbs got up, still laughing, and went to his side, picking him up and rubbing the Tony’s shoulder where he hit it.

“You alright?”

Tony licked Gibbs’ face, then jumped from his arms onto the bed. He stood there, looking at Gibbs for a moment, then he closed his eyes, the air shimmered, and Tony sat on the bed, looking at Gibbs and rubbing his shoulder. 

“Ow.”

Gibbs grinned at him. “You’re crazy.”

Tony returned the smile. “Never seen you laugh like that,” he commented.

“Haven’t had reason to.”

Tony moved to sit back against the headboard, not caring about the fact that he was still naked. “Your turn.”

Gibbs nodded, reaching up to wipe a bit of moisture away from the corner of his eye before he quickly undressed, closed his eyes, and shifted into fox form. He jumped up on the bed, stretching and then sitting, looking at Tony with his tail curled around his feet.

“I will pay you a hundred dollars if you chase your tail right now,” Tony said seriously.

The fox rolled his eyes and huffed out a breath, getting up to his feet and moving closer to Tony, who reached out to rub behind his ears. Blue eyes met green, and then the fox nose-punched Tony in the arm. 

“Hey!”

The air around the fox shimmered, and Gibbs sat there, looking at Tony, who pouted at him. “Ow!”

Gibbs sighed. “Want me to kiss it and make it better?”

“Maybe later.” Tony shifted over a bit. “Seems to hurt less every time I change. That true for you too?”

“Yeah.”

“Guess that answers that… we can be foxes anytime we want.”

Gibbs shot Tony a look. “Gotta be careful. Can’t fool around with it.”

“Of course not. I don’t want to be turned into some sort of government lab rat, do you?”

Gibbs shook his head. “We only do this at home… or if we go hiking or something like that.”

“Agreed.” 

Tony’s phone rang; he’d plugged it in to charge before they’d left for the diner. “Abby,” he said, recognizing the ring tone. He grabbed it off the nightstand and answered. “Hey, Abs!”

_“Tony!! How are you guys?”_

Tony grinned and winked at Gibbs. “We’re doing great. We’re both naked on a motel bed.” He tried to dodge the head slap, but was unsuccessful.

_“No, seriously, are you back from your hike?”_

“Yeah, we are. And we’re both fine.”

_“Where’s Greg?”_

“He took off for Vermont this afternoon. Says hi and he’ll call you when he’s back in town.”

_“Did Gibbs get what he needed?”_

“Hold on, you can ask him.” He handed the phone over to Gibbs, who looked vaguely uncomfortable and pulled the comforter over his waist, making Tony laugh. 

“Hey, Abs.”

_“Gibbs!! Are you alright? Did you get the answers you were looking for?”_

“I’m fine, and yeah, I think I did.”

_“So tell me all about it!”_

Gibbs looked at Tony. “Not on the phone, Abby. We’re heading back to DC tomorrow. How about you come over the following night?”

_“You’re doing the drive in one day?”_

“Only about ten hours, and we’ll stop for lunch somewhere. Give us the night and the next day to relax and we’ll fill you in then, okay?”

_“Sounds good. I’m glad you’re alright – are you and Tony okay too?”_

Gibbs rolled his eyes and handed the phone back to Tony, who grinned at him before talking to her. “What did you say to him?”

Abby giggled. _“I asked if you guys were doing alright.”_

“We’re fine. And we might be even more fine if you get off the phone.”

_“You’re no fun.”_

“We’ll see you in a couple of days, Abby.”

_“Can I tell Tim and Ziva that you’re coming home?”_

“Sure, don’t see why not. Tell them we’ll see them back at work.”

_“Drive safe!”_

“Will do. Bye, Abs.” Tony pressed the screen to end the call, then put the phone back on the nightstand before rolling over to face Gibbs, who shot him a mild glare.

“What?”

“You had to tell her we’re naked?”

“Not like she believed me.”

Gibbs sighed. Tony reached out and ran the tips of his fingers over Gibbs’ arm. “Hey, I can tone it down if you want.”

Gibbs looked at him, then reached out to take Tony’s other hand. “Just… gonna take a little time to get used to my work life and my personal life connecting.”

“Didn’t have to think about it much before, huh.”

Gibbs shook his head. “Was too focused on the whole spirit thing. Now…”

Tony leaned in and dropped a light kiss on Gibbs’ lips. “Now we can start really focusing on what’s going on with us.”

Gibbs returned the kiss, turning to face Tony and pull him closer. “Yeah. How about we get started on that now?”

Tony smiled. “Sounds like a plan to me.” 

Gibbs threw the comforter off as he rolled away, turning off the lamp, then moved back, taking hold of Tony’s arms and pulling the other man on top of him. He moved one hand up to the back of Tony’s head, pulling him down and into a heated kiss. 

One kiss turned into many, and caresses became passionate; they took their time getting to know each other on such an intimate level, both men becoming so wrapped up in a haze of love-making that it was difficult to tell where one of them ended and the next began. 

Caught up in the intensity of the connection between them, moments away from climaxing, Gibbs gasped out a word. “Care... I care about you Tony. So much.”

Tony drew back from where he’d been focused on Gibbs’ neck; his mouth moved to Gibbs’ ear, and he whispered, “Protect… on your six, Jethro… always.”

Their eyes met, and just before their lips did the same, they both said “Love.” Gasps and moans filled the room, which then turned quiet, except for the sound of heavy breathing as they both recovered.

Tony finally shifted away from Gibbs, rolling onto his side and holding his partner close. “That was... I don’t have words.”

Gibbs sighed. “Never been so happy to have bought that haunted wood.”

Tony chuckled, leaning in to drop a kiss on Gibbs’ lips. “I’ll second that.” He was quiet for a moment, then asked, “You think when the spirit said that to you, it was giving us relationship advice?”

Gibbs laughed, rolling onto his back, reaching up to wipe the sweat away from his eyes. “Yeah, but there was more to it than that.” He turned his head to look at Tony. “Remember that last dream we shared, up on the mountain?”

“The one where we were foxes, hanging out on that rock, and the spirit was there?”

“Uh huh.”

Tony thought about it for a moment. “You think the spirit was also telling us it protects the mountain.”

Gibbs nodded. “I think it sees something of itself in us.”

“Cause we’re feds, and our job is to protect?”

“Protect others, and each other.”

“Makes sense.”

They were both quiet for a long time, almost asleep when Tony spoke up. “We should go back and visit. I think it wants to be friends.”

Gibbs pulled him closer. “When it’s warmer.”

“Oh, yeah. Definitely.”

Gibbs shifted a bit so Tony’s head rested on his chest. “Good?”

“Very good.”

“Sleep well, Tony.”

“You too, Jethro.”

_The two foxes played in the clearing near the tree. The spirit, separate from the tree, looked on, long branch-like arms swaying in the breeze, as if the spirit were laughing. The foxes stopped chasing each other, and the long arms came down, one resting on the back of each fox. The foxes looked at each other, the connection between them growing stronger. The spirit moved away, and the foxes changed back to humans, standing together and looking up at the spirit, whose arms again descended, long fingers touching their faces. care/protect/love/together, it seemed to say, and the two men linked hands and promised to do just that._


	16. Self-Evaluation

Tony woke slowly, looking into the darkness of Gibbs’ bedroom as he stretched. He reached out a hand, and found Gibbs lying on his stomach, arms around his pillow as he slept. Tony reached up to rub his eyes, then quietly made his way out of bed and into the bathroom down the hall. 

He closed the door before switching on the light; he blinked rapidly, letting his eyes adjust, then stood in front of the mirror, gazing at his reflection. 

_I feel like I should look different._

Tony turned on the faucet, letting the water warm up a bit before he splashing some on his face. He looked back in the mirror, idly watching the droplets of water run down his skin as he thought back over the previous day.

There’d been no morning-after awkwardness between him and Gibbs, for which Tony was extremely grateful. They’d woken early; Gibbs had leaned over to give Tony a brief kiss on the lips, Tony had pulled him back in for a longer one, and just like that everything was fine. It hadn’t taken them long to shower, pack up, settle the motel bill, and head for the diner for breakfast, where they’d eaten in a comfortable silence. 

Gibbs took the first shift on the drive south, while Tony slept for a while. _I guess all that trouble breathing, nearly dying, then becoming a were-fox can be kinda exhausting._ Tony smiled at himself in the mirror, reached for a towel, and dried his face. 

Gibbs had driven for almost four hours, then Tony had taken over. They’d stopped for some lunch, and were back on the road within half an hour. The drive had been quiet; Tony might have been worried, but the fact that Gibbs’ fingers were laced with his own for most of it dispelled any concerns before they could take hold. 

Tony leaned closer to the mirror. “I almost died,” he whispered. He hadn’t thought about it much, having been so wrapped up in the experience of being a fox. Now that they were back home, his mind kept returning to the memory of gasping for breath, feeling dizzy, helpless, and scared.

He’d lost consciousness, then woke up in the tent looking up at Gibbs, not even realizing he was a fox until he’d tried to talk. _That figures._ He smiled at his reflection, then straightened up, closing his eyes for a moment and willing the change. He tried to open his eyes and watch it in the mirror… he was only able to catch a hint of that glowing shimmer in the air before he lost track of time and space for a moment, then found himself standing on all fours on the bathroom floor. 

It was no trouble to jump from the floor to the toilet seat cover to the vanity. He stood there, next to the sink, gazing at himself in the mirror. 

_Wow. It’s real._

Tony felt he deserved a head slap for that thought… _of course it’s real, dumbass._

He looked at himself carefully, marveling at the rich colors of his fur, the black lining around his eyes… he made his tail swish, staring at it in the mirror, fascinated by it all. Suddenly, the possibilities seemed endless.

_Talk about a great disguise… although I guess we’d have to be pursuing criminals in the woods for it to make sense._

His head tilted to one side as he considered the notion. _Could be tough to write up in a report… can’t exactly say ‘and then I went into fox-mode, tracked the perp with my superior sense of smell and hearing, and was able to discover the incriminating evidence listening in while hiding in a burrow under a tree._

And that reminded him of the conversation he’d had with Gibbs once they’d finally made it home… after picking up a pizza, of course…

_“So, Jethro… what do we tell Vance about all this?”_

_“You mean about what happened up on the mountain?”_

_“Well, yeah… that, and the fact that we can both be foxes.”_

_Gibbs’ gaze became thoughtful as he took a big bite of pizza and chewed slowly. Tony waited, watching him, and could tell when his partner made a decision._

_Blue eyes met green. “I think we tell him it’s all resolved now… it’s done. He doesn’t need to know.”_

_“Maybe he doesn’t even want to know.”_

_“You just might be right about that.”_

Tony sat carefully, wrapping his tail around his feet the way Gibbs seemed to like to do. He yawned suddenly, then sat there with his mouth open and lips drawn back a little, staring in wonder at his very sharp, very white teeth. 

_This is so cool._

Tony thought back to when he first found Gibbs in his basement, having just become the fox, remembering the worry and… fear, he supposed… the Gibbs had to deal with. The memory cut into his fascination with his own change. 

_He handled it a hell of a lot better than I would have, if it had been me. I can enjoy it, because I know I can be human again… for all he knew, he’d be stuck this way forever. I wish…_

Tony tried to figure out where his thoughts were going. _What? That we could be foxes all the time? Nah… I’d miss too much. I love my job, and movies, and my friends… and I love Gibbs. Gibbs as a fox and Gibbs as a human… I’d miss what we’re just starting to explore._

After they finished off the pizza, Gibbs called Vance, gave him the update, and told him they’d be in to work in two days, that they needed a day to rest from the stress of the hike up the mountain. He’d told Vance about Tony’s near-death experience, but changed the story to include a working epi-pen. Vance had expressed genuine concern and asked that Tony get medical clearance before going out in the field. Gibbs had promised to have Ducky look at Tony as soon as possible. 

Tony had called both McGee and Ziva, letting them know that they were back, that Gibbs was doing much better, that it had helped to return to the scene and put certain ghosts to rest. Ziva seemed to understand about those ‘ghosts’ in principle, while McGee accepted Tony’s story at face value. Both were happy they were back and that Gibbs would be back to normal.

_I wonder if we’ll ever be able to tell them the truth._

Much to his own surprise, Tony realized he was hoping they would be able to, some day.

Meanwhile, Gibbs had called both Abby and Ducky, inviting them to come over to the house after work the next day. Tony was certainly anticipating showing off his new form… they’d agreed during the drive home that both their friends deserved to share in this new part of their lives.

Tony brought himself back to the present, staring at his reflection. _I hope Jethro wants to play together like this again. It’s good for him… he gets to have fun in a way I don’t think he does much, anymore._ He wondered how Gibbs’ first wife and his daughter would have reacted to him changing like that.

“Tony?”

Tony yipped in surprise at Gibbs’ voice coming from the other side of the door. The door opened, and Gibbs stood there, looking at him with a small smile on his face. Tony did the fox equivalent of clearing his throat, and had the random thought that at least in this form he couldn’t turn red from embarrassment. 

Gibbs leaned on the door jamb, his smile growing. “Admiring yourself, huh? Do that often?”

Tony’s ears moved sideways, and the grumbled a bit, showing a few teeth. 

Gibbs laughed and moved forward, reaching out to rub Tony neck. Tony leaned into the touch and sighed. 

“It’s okay, Tone… I did the same thing those first few days, when I was stuck here in the house while you were at work.”

Tony looked up at him curiously.

Gibbs shrugged. “I had to see for myself… figured I needed to get used to it, if I couldn’t ever be human again.”

Tony whined softly and bumped Gibbs’ side with the top of his head.

“Ready to go back to sleep?”

Tony gave a small woof of agreement. Gibbs reached out to pick him up, one arm under his chest and one under his hind legs, turning the light off with his elbow. 

He carried Tony back to the bed, setting him down gently before getting back under the covers. The bedside lamp was on, giving the room a soft glow. 

Man and fox looked at each other for a few seconds. “You gonna sleep like that?” 

The fox was surrounded by that shimmer, and then Tony lay there, smiling. “Nah, not this time.”

Moments later, both men were under the covers. Gibbs pulled Tony close. “What made you get up?”

Tony sighed and rested his head on Gibbs’ shoulder. “Woke up and I guess it just all sort of hit me, you know? Everything that’s happened… didn’t get up with the intention of changing – for some reason I felt that I should look different, you know? Like I’m not the same person anymore.”

Gibbs nodded slowly. “Yeah, I get it.” He ran his hand over Tony’s back. “You’re still you, and I’m still me. We’ve just added a few new skills.”

Tony chuckled. “That’s one way of putting it.”

“Mmm hmm.”

Tony reached for Gibbs’ hand, interlacing their fingers much as they had been most of the day in the truck. “You think we’d have ended up here, like this, if the whole fox thing hadn’t happened?”

Gibbs’ arm tightened around Tony for a moment. “No idea. Nice to think so.”

“Yeah… I mean, it’s not like we’re together just because of the whole fox thing.”

Gibbs shook his head. “It helped bring our relationship to a new level… but it didn’t cause your feelings, or mine.”

Tony pulled back to meet Gibbs’ eyes. “We’ve sort of established that I had feelings for you before the spirit… feelings that apparently the rest of NCIS knew about before I did.”

Gibbs laughed quietly. “I think you’re exaggerating a little.”

Tony smiled. “Well, maybe a bit.” His eyes searched Gibbs’. “You think you had feelings like that for me before this all happened?”

Gibbs moved his hand from Tony’s back to his hair, running his fingers through it. “I think I did. Not sure if I recognized them for what they were, or could be. Maybe I needed some sort of trigger to see things differently.”

Tony nodded. “Fine with me… we’re here now, and that’s what matters.”

Gibbs smiled and pulled Tony in for a kiss. “You’re right,” he said quietly, after they separated. He shifted over to switch off the light, then lay back down, gathering Tony close again. It didn’t take long for them both to fall back to sleep, and if they dreamed, they didn’t remember it.


	17. Surprise

**Home Visit**

Tony was stepping off the stairs and turning toward the kitchen when the front door flew open and a whirlwind dressed in black and red burst through and flung herself into his arms.

_“Tony!!”_

Laughing, Tony hugged her back, twirling her in place before setting her down and grinning back into her happy face. “Hey, Abs.”

Her eyes searched his face before she pulled him into another hug. “You look great!” She let go before he could return the hug and tilted her head to one side. “Gibbs is okay?”

Tony nodded. “More than okay. By the time we left the mountain, Gibbs and the spirit were friends, I think.”

“That is so amazing! I want to hear all about it.”

Tony nodded toward the kitchen. “Gibbs and Ducky are in there – don’t worry, we were waiting for you to tell the story.”

Abby ran to the kitchen; Tony watched her go, marveling as always at her ability to move so quickly in such large, clunky boots. He heard her exclamation of _“Gibbs!!”_ followed by the muffled impact just as he arrived; he stood next to Ducky as Gibbs regained his balance with an armful of Abby. The two men exchanged smiles while Abby talked a mile a minute, asking questions and speculating about the answers without letting Gibbs get a word in. 

Finally, Gibbs silenced her with a single finger over her lips. “Abby,” he said gently, “we’ll tell you about it after dinner.”

Abby dropped a quick kiss on the tip of his finger, then stepped back to look around. “Ducky!” She moved rapidly in his direction, slowing down just as Tony thought he might have to run interference. 

Ducky returned her gentle hug. “You seem quite happy, my dear girl.”

“I am! Gibbs and Tony are back where they belong, Tony said Gibbs and the spirit are friends now, and all is right with the world again!”

Gibbs’ eyebrows shot up as he looked Tony’s way. “Friends? That’s one way to put it.”

Tony grinned at him. “What would you call it, then?”

Gibbs’ lips twitched as he repressed a smile. “I’ll get back to you on that.”

A short time later they were seated at the table, eating the dinner Ducky had brought with him. He’d insisted earlier on providing a healthy meal, stating emphatically that he was not about to consume pizza, and he had no interest in watching them clog their arteries while he was eating.

Once they were done with dinner and had moved to the living room, Gibbs simply sat back and listened as Tony told the story of the trip up the mountain. They had decided on a plan for revealing what had happened; Gibbs didn’t want to talk about watching Tony nearly die if he didn’t have to, so Tony talked about his struggle to breathe and his eventual blacking out.

Ducky interrupted at that point. “But, Jethro, the epi-pens I gave you?”

Gibbs shook his head. “My fault, Duck. I didn’t read the directions, didn’t realize I needed to carry them in my coat to keep them warm.”

Abby gasped, her eyes widening as she stared at Tony. “They froze?! But then, how…”

“How am I not dead?” Tony reached out and took Gibbs’ hand. “I didn’t get to see it, but apparently Gibbs attacked the spirit’s tree until the spirit came out and saved me.”

Gibbs smiled at him, lacing their fingers together and resting their hands on the couch cushion. Abby stared at their hands and bit back a squeal, while Ducky seemed torn between happiness and distress.

“Jethro, Anthony… I am so very sorry. I should have warned you about the effect of such cold temperatures on the mechanism.”

Gibbs shook his head. “It worked out, Duck.”

Ducky nodded, clearly shaking off his guilt. “Yes, indeed, for Anthony is here and whole… and the two of you have apparently finally come to your senses. I do congratulate you both.”

Tony grinned at Gibbs, leaning in to drop a quick kiss on his lips before moving back quickly to dodge the resulting head slap. Gibbs mock-growled at him, but was prevented from saying anything else as Abby leapt out of her chair and flung herself at both men for a group hug.

“This is the best thing ever! I hoped this would bring you guys together!”

It took a few moments, but eventually Abby was back in her seat and the conversation could continue. Ducky leaned forward. “So you were able to see the spirit?”

Gibbs nodded, and described what he’d seen. “Same thing I was seeing in some of my dreams,” he commented.

“Are you guys still sharing dreams?” Abby asked. 

Tony nodded. “Which is cool… especially since I didn’t get to see the spirit myself, being unconscious and all.”

Ducky looked seriously at Gibbs before shooting a meaningful gaze at the joined hands still resting on the couch. “Then you are confident in your control over your own feelings?”

Gibbs and Tony looked at each other for a moment; Gibbs squeezed Tony’s hand and let go. “Sure am. In control of more than that, too… I’ll show you.”

He left the room; Tony sat back, grinning, while Ducky and Abby just looked slightly confused. Abby shook it off, and asked Tony in a stage whisper, “Is Gibbs good in bed?”

Ducky shook his head at her while Tony laughed. “You think I want the mother of all head slaps, Abby? No way I’m answering that question.”

Abby grinned at him. “I’ll take that as a yes.” She looked in the direction Gibbs had gone. “What’s he doing, anyway?”

“You’ll see… I think you’ll like this.”

Abby narrowed her eyes at him; the sudden change in her expression told Tony she figured it out just before the silver fox padded into the room.

“Oh, my,” was Ducky’s only comment as the beautiful fox jumped up on the couch and curled up next to Tony.

Abby surprised them all by sitting quietly, gazing at Gibbs before reaching up to brush a little moisture away from the corner of her eye. “You can control it now?” 

Gibbs nodded. He looked at Ducky, tilting his head to one side, inviting comment from his old friend.

Ducky simply smiled, then extended his hand. “May I?”

Gibbs nodded again, jumping down and walking over to Ducky, wagging his tail slightly while Ducky ran his hand over the soft fur. 

“This may be one of the most truly amazing things I have ever witnessed,” Ducky said.

Tony smiled. “It gets better.” He rose to his feet. “Be right back.”

Neither Ducky nor Abby paid much attention as he left. Abby moved to the floor, hugging Gibbs and talking animatedly with Ducky, answering what she could since Gibbs couldn’t speak. 

Tony jogged up the stairs and into the bedroom, noting Gibbs’ neatly folded clothes on the bed. He stripped quickly, tossing his own haphazardly into a loose pile before willing the change. He stretched all four legs before moving silently out of the room and down the stairs. 

He peered carefully around the corner of the living room. Gibbs was back on the couch, trying to answer questions with either a nod or a shake of his head. Neither Abby nor Ducky was looking in his direction; he took a deep breath, then trotted into the room with his head and tail held high, jumping up on the couch next to Gibbs.

Abby’s scream and Ducky’s exclamation were highly gratifying. Tony nudged Gibbs’ shoulder as he turned to face his friends, his tongue lolling from his mouth as he grinned at them. 

Abby’s hands covered the lower half of her face. Ducky simply sat there, open-mouthed, for once stunned into silence. 

“Tony?” Abby whispered. 

He nodded. Abby got up and sat down next to him, reaching out to gently stroke his back. “Oh, wow. You’re _gorgeous_.” 

Ducky stared at his friends, still at a loss for words. Gibbs got up, shook himself, then jumped down and trotted over to him, nudging his hand with his nose. 

“I apologize, Jethro,” Ducky responded, clearly forcing himself out of his shock. He gently rubbed Gibbs’ neck. “This is quite a bit to take in.” He looked over at Tony and Abby; the latter was talking quietly and intently to Tony, who licked her face. “Did the spirit turn Tony into a fox to save him?”

Gibbs’ eyes met Ducky’s as he nodded once. Ducky saw the remembered pain in his friend’s eyes, and sighed quietly. “I feel I must apologize again. If I’d warned you about the epi-pens, I’d have spared you both all of that.”

Gibbs shook his head and looked back at Tony. He nudged Ducky’s hand with his head, then moved back onto the couch, paw-slapping Tony, making both Abby and Ducky laugh. 

Tony turned to glare at Gibbs. He lifted his lip from over one long, sharp canine tooth, then nose punched Gibbs in the side. Gibbs huffed out a breath, pushing back. Tony rose to all four feet, then nose punched harder, following that by leaping off the couch, barking once, then leaping back on and nose punching Gibbs again before jumping down and running out of the room. 

Gibbs growled, then took off after him. Abby and Ducky both got to their feet and watched the foxes zoom around the house, chasing, jumping, and rolling around on the floor play-biting at each other’s legs and feet.

Abby sniffled; Ducky turned away from his fascination with the foxes, looking at her with concern. “Abigail?”

“I _told_ Tony he was gonna save Gibbs,” she said quietly, then impulsively hugged him.

Tony and Gibbs ran up the stairs. Ducky and Abby waited for a moment, taking their seats again when the two didn’t reappear right away. They talked quietly about what they’d just seen, with Abby giving Ducky more details about Gibbs’ time as a fox before their first trip north.

Upstairs, Gibbs and Tony had both resumed their human forms. They were both half-dressed when Tony reached out to grab Gibbs’ arm and pulled him close, kissing him passionately. 

Gibbs pulled away after a few minutes. “Not now, Tony… they’re still downstairs.”

Tony smiled. “Later, then. And we have to do that more often… that’s a hell of a lot of fun.”

Gibbs grinned at him. “Agreed.”

They finished dressing, returning to the living room. Abby got up and gave Tony a hug, then let him join Gibbs on the couch. The two men linked hands again, and the conversation picked up where they’d left off, as Gibbs and Tony described the rest of their experience on the mountain. They left out Greg’s transformation, having decided it was the shaman’s decision whether to share that information.

Ducky leaned forward as the conversation turned toward the team. “Do you think you shall let Timothy and Ziva in on this secret?”

Tony and Gibbs looked at each other for a several seconds before Tony answered. “We’d like to. I actually did, when we first got back from New Hampshire and they were bugging me for details… but they didn’t take me seriously.” He looked at Abby. “Abs? What do you think? Can they handle it?”

Abby thought it over. “I think so. Timmy will… you know he’ll keep your secrets, even if he likes to tease you, Tony. Ziva… I think she’d have to see it to accept it.”

Tony nodded, then looked at Gibbs. “I don’t know if I’m ready for that,” he admitted. 

Gibbs squeezed his hand. “No rush, Tony. I’m probably not either.”

It was late when their friends left. Tony locked the door after them, then turned to look at Gibbs, smiling slightly. 

“Now?”

Gibbs grinned at him, then waved an arm toward the stairs. Tony ran up the stairs, but wasn’t fast enough to avoid a smack on the rear. 

“Hey!” He stopped and turned to look at Gibbs, who blinked innocently at him. 

“Is there a problem?”

Tony rolled his eyes and continued up the stairs backwards. He then bolted for the bedroom, with Gibbs following closely, laughing as he ran.

**A Gift**

The next morning, Tony shifted uncomfortably on one of the tables in Autopsy, shivering slightly as he sat with his shirt off while Ducky listened to his lungs. Finally, Ducky removed the stethoscope from Tony’s back and moved in front of him. “Am I gonna live?”

Ducky shot him a slightly annoyed look. “Yes, Anthony, you shall live. What I don’t understand is why your lungs sound as clear as they do. There should be some residual noise from such a severe attack.”

“Healthy living?” Tony hazarded, while Ducky sighed and shook his head. 

“I can certainly notify Director Vance that you are cleared for work… but I would like to take an x-ray to see what sort of shape your lungs are in, if I may.”

Tony shrugged. “X-ray away.”

A short time later Ducky was looking at the back-lit x-rays on the wall, while Tony stood nearby. Ducky was silent for so long that the younger man was getting nervous. Just then the door slid open and Gibbs strode through. 

“DiNozzo cleared for duty, Duck? We’ve got a body.”

Ducky turned to look at him. “He certainly is. Not only that, he’s healed.”

Gibbs and Tony exchanged glances. “Um… what do you mean?” Tony asked.

Ducky looked back at the x-rays. “I mean, quite simply, that your lungs are pristine.”

Both men simply stared at him. Ducky looked back at the x-rays, then went to Tony’s open medical file that had been sitting on the table, pulled out an old film, and put it up on the wall next to the new one.

“Notice all the stippling here, and here?” He pointed out the regions. The lungs on the old film appeared cloudy. “That was from the plague. Now look here.” He motioned toward the new x-ray. “It’s all gone.”

Gibbs shrugged. “So, he healed up.”

Ducky sighed and shook his head. “No, Jethro, he did not. Scarred lungs don’t just heal. That sort of damage is irreversible.” He looked at Tony. “I assume Dr. Pitt told you that.”

Tony stared at the picture of his clear lungs while he nodded. “Yeah… yeah, he did. Told me my career in the field would likely be shorter than it could have been because of it.”

Gibbs stared at him. Tony felt his gaze and turned to him, smiling apologetically. “Didn’t see the point in worrying you about it, Boss.” He accepted the resulting head slap without complaint.

Ducky was back to staring at the x-rays. “It appears that I am witness to three miracles in two days. There is no medical explanation for this, so I must hazard a guess that your spirit friend healed Anthony’s lungs when he gave him the ability to shift form.”

Tony absently reached up and rubbed his chest. “I’ll have to go back for a visit and thank him.”

Gibbs laid his hand on Tony’s shoulder and squeezed. “Me too.” He dropped his hand and looked at Ducky. “We’ve got to go; McGee and David are waiting.” He handed the medical examiner a slip of paper. “Meet us as soon as you can.” 

Ducky nodded. “I shall just phone the Director with the update on Tony’s clearance; I’ll file the paperwork upon my return.”

The two agents headed for the elevator. Tony hit the button for the upper floor, and was only mildly surprised when Gibbs hit the emergency stop seconds later. The older man pulled Tony into a hug, hanging on fiercely for a moment before letting go, restarting the elevator, and straightening his jacket. 

Tony just smiled and said quietly, “Thanks, Jethro,” before the doors opened and it was business as usual.

**Surprise**

It took them three days to track down and arrest the young seaman’s killer. They hadn’t slept much during that time, and certainly hadn’t left work, not once they’d learned that more people were being targeted. An infuriated Gibbs had obtained a confession fairly quickly, then sent his team home shortly after midnight, telling them reports could wait until the next day.

Gibbs made it to the house before Tony and was in the kitchen grabbing a couple of beers from the fridge when he heard the door open and close. 

_“We so need to get away this weekend… go camping, have some fox time.”_

Gibbs joined Tony in the living room where he was sprawled on the couch, and handed him a bottle. “No kidding. I’m all for it, as long as we don’t get put on call.”

Tony looked at him strangely. “What are you talking about?”

Gibbs sat down, took a long drink, then shrugged. “Camping. Like you said – fox time.”

Tony sat up and stared at him. “Jethro… I didn’t say anything.”

“Sure you did. I heard you.”

Tony shook his head. “No, seriously. I didn’t say anything.”

Gibbs shot him an exasperated look. “Tony, I’m too tired for this.”

Tony reached out and took Gibbs’ hand. “Look at me.”

Gibbs sighed. “Okay, I’m looking.”

Tony stared at him, his lips compressed into a thin line. _“I didn’t say anything, Jethro. I was thinking it. You heard me thinking – can you hear me now?”_

Gibbs stared back. Tony’s mouth had never moved. “I don’t believe this. Yes, I heard you.”

“What did I say?”

“That you didn’t say anything, that you were thinking it, that I heard you thinking, and then you asked if I could hear you then.”

Tony continued to stare for a moment, then released Gibbs’ hand and sat back, closing his eyes and laughing quietly. “Well, hell.”

Gibbs started to smile. “Guess our friend gave us another present.”

Tony opened his eyes and turned his head toward Gibbs. “Think at me.”

Gibbs blinked, than shrugged. _“How about we go to bed? I’ve missed you.”_

Tony grinned. “I missed you too. No damn privacy on a case.” He stood, grabbing his beer and holding out his hand. “Come on.”

Gibbs took his hand and let Tony help him up. “We’re being awfully calm about this.”

It was Tony’s turn to shrug as he tugged Gibbs toward the stairs. “Jethro, we can turn into foxes and talk to spirits. What’s a little telepathy between friends and lovers?”

Gibbs laughed as he turned off the light. _“You’ve got a good point there.”_

_“I know.”_

Much later that night, the two men were curled up in bed together, fast asleep.

_The two foxes sat at the base of the tree, each with a front paw resting on the bark. They took turns thanking the spirit for healing Tony’s lungs and for the additional gift of mental communication. Moments later the spirit emerged from the tree, reaching out to greet the foxes with gentle touches from long, twig-like fingers. With the touch came understanding, and the two foxes knew they could control this new ability. The spirit walked toward the rocky outcrop it used as an observation point, flanked by a fox on either side. They spent the night watching over the mountain and its creatures, as the spirit, with images and short sequences of words, told them some of its long history._

End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will be another story in this series; Angstqueen gave me a lovely plot bunny! Probably back to the FIOverse next first, and it will be a while so I can deal with work and other real life issues. I'll be planning my next stories, though! Thank you all so much for reading.


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